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US Demands Release of Argentine Gendarme Held by Venezuela

Washington’s public call follows a failed high-level prisoner swap, underscoring diplomatic pressure alongside covert evacuation of Gallo’s family.

Overview

  • US State Department spokesperson Natalia Molano urged President Nicolás Maduro to free Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo and all foreign nationals detained without due process.
  • Diplomats from the US and Argentina are operating out of Bogotá to build international support after a secret July prisoner‐swap collapsed over an impossible Venezuelan condition.
  • Gallo remains incommunicado at El Rodeo I prison, facing espionage and terrorism charges that Venezuela has not publicly substantiated.
  • The US conducts consular and diplomatic efforts from Colombia due to the absence of an embassy in Caracas, seeking multilateral cooperation to secure detainee releases.
  • Argentina executed a covert operation to evacuate Gallo’s wife, María Alexandra Gómez, and their two‐year‐old son from Venezuela to Argentina under National Gendarmerie support.