Family of imprisoned Argentine rescued out of Venezuela in another daring operation
In what is being described as a secret rescue operation, the partner and the son of an Argentine police officer, Nahuel Gallo, who is currently imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime, have managed to leave Venezuela with the help of Argentine authorities, local media reported on Wednesday.
Details of the escape remained confidential Wednesday Those involved say discretion is essential to protect the safety of María Alexandra Gómez, a Venezuelan national who is Gallo’s partner, and their son, Victor Benjamin, as well as others who facilitated the operation. According to local media, the Gomez and Benjamin are now in Colombia.
Gallo is currently being held at a Venezuelan prison and faces espionage-related charges.
Their departure marked the end of a harrowing chapter. Living in the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui with Gómez’s mother, the family endured severe economic hardship and persistent fear of government reprisals. Although Gómez faced no formal travel restrictions, the risk of being detained at the border prompted her to seek help, triggering what sources described as a silent and carefully planned extraction effort.
“We won’t be okay until he’s free,” Gómez posted on social media in January—a stark reflection of the anxiety surrounding Gallo’s situation. That uncertainty remains.
Gallo was detained in December after crossing the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge into Venezuela to visit his family. Since then, his family’s only contact with him has been a brief phone call, made from a cell phone borrowed from a taxi driver on the day of his arrest. The only evidence of his condition is a photograph showing him in prison uniform, reportedly in El Rodeo prison, though his exact location has not been confirmed.
In Buenos Aires, Gallo’s mother, Griselda Heredia, learned of Gómez and her grandson’s escape through the media. “I am shaken by this news. We had no idea,” she told DNews. “I am in a state of desperation now because if they let her go, what will happen to my son?”
Gallo’s arrest came amid escalating repression by the Maduro government. In recent weeks, Venezuelan authorities have detained multiple foreign nationals—including two Argentines who were later released—accusing them of attempting to overthrow the regime following the contested presidential election of July 28, which has been marred by widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
The Argentine government has responded with increasing fire. Last Friday, the Foreign Ministry condemned the Maduro regime’s actions as “state terrorism,” singling out Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s second-in-command—as the architect of a “repressive machine” built on “fear, kidnappings, forced disappearances, and systematic harassment of family members.”
The statement demanded Gallo’s immediate release, along with all individuals held without due process, and announced plans to intensify Argentina’s complaint against Venezuela before the International Criminal Court, calling for an urgent ruling on alleged crimes against humanity.
Diplomatic tensions between Buenos Aires and Caracas have intensified since President Javier Milei took office in Argentina in December 2023. The relationship further deteriorated in February following Argentina’s seizure of a Venezuelan aircraft, prompting Caracas to close its airspace.
The crisis reached a peak with the arrest of Gallo and later with the dramatic escape of five Venezuelan opposition leaders who had taken refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas. The group — Magallí Meda, Claudia Macero, Omar González, Pedro Urruchurtu, and Humberto Villalobos — are close allies of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and had been sheltered in the embassy since March 2024.
The embassy, once a refuge for the opposition figures, ended up becoming a flashpoint in the broader geopolitical standoff. After more than a year confined within the diplomatic compound, which has operated under Brazilian protection since Argentine diplomats were expelled, the five managed to flee to the United States earlier this month.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM.
