BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥� Argentine Nahuel Gallo, who spent 448 days imprisoned in Venezuela, called Friday for the international community to increase pressure on the government of interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodr铆guez to release other prisoners.
The 35-year-old was released March 1 after being detained on espionage accusations brought by the government of .
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e still imprisoned until our fellow inmates are freed,鈥� Gallo told The Associated Press.
During nearly 15 months in detention, Gallo said he endured beatings, limited medical care and constant psychological pressure inside Rodeo I.
As acting president since Maduro鈥檚 capture by U.S. forces in January, Rodr铆guez has promised democratic reforms and the Venezuelan government has . Critics, however, say hundreds remain jailed for political reasons.
For Gallo, those detentions show Venezuela鈥檚 repressive system remains intact.
On Thursday, Gallo met in Buenos Aires with U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas, who said in a statement that 鈥渢he Maduro regime in Venezuela used the arbitrary detention of foreign citizens as a tool of political repression.鈥�
This week, National Assembly President Jorge Rodr铆guez 鈥� the interim president鈥檚 brother 鈥� announced plans to 300 detainees, some of which rights groups consider politically based.
Detained and accused of terrorism
Gallo was arrested Dec. 8, 2024, while attempting to enter Venezuela to visit his Venezuelan partner, Mar铆a Alexandra G贸mez Garc铆a, and their son, who was then less than 2 years old.
At an immigration checkpoint, Venezuelan authorities searched his phone and found WhatsApp conversations with his partner about Venezuela鈥檚 political and economic situation.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e criticizing my president,鈥� Gallo recalled officers telling him.
He was then transferred to the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, where he said he was handcuffed, beaten and kicked during interrogations.
Afterward, he was forced into a truck, where agents continued interrogating him after finding contacts linked to Argentine judicial agencies on his cellphone.
鈥淵ou are a spy. You work for the government,鈥� he recalled them saying while threatening to throw him from the vehicle, pressing a gun against his head and pointing a Taser at him.
Nearly three weeks after his arrest, then-Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab accused Gallo of participating in 鈥渢errorist actions鈥� against Venezuela.
Surviving confinement
During the nearly 15 months he spent at Rodeo I, Gallo said he had no contact with Argentine officials and no information about whether negotiations for his release were underway.
Gallo described harsh conditions inside the prison. Medical care was limited. Detainees had only a few minutes each day to bathe, wash clothes and use the bathroom. Inmates were frequently sprayed with pepper spray.
As a foreigner, he was not allowed to receive visits. The first time he spoke with his wife came after a year in detention and only after he launched a hunger strike.
The memories that still haunt him are of guards beating prisoners in nearby cells.
鈥淚 think the greatest torture is seeing something being done to someone else and not being able to do anything,鈥� Gallo said.
He now uses social media to denounce conditions in Venezuelan prisons and advocate for those still detained.
鈥淭he person who鈥檚 still inside is waiting for the one who got out to do something,鈥� he said.
Gallo still remembers what fellow inmates told him as he left Rodeo I: 鈥淕allo, don’t forget about us.鈥�
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