The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures to Nahuel Agustín Gallo, the Argentine military police officer arrested in Venezuela, while the Organization of American States said his detention constituted a crime against humanity.

In its first resolution of the year, dated January 1 and published two days later, the commission stated that Gallo was “in a serious and urgent situation since his rights to life and personal integrity face a risk of irreparable harm.”

The day the IACHR announced its resolution, the Organization of American States (OAS) called Gallo’s detention “a crime against humanity” and “a clear violation of international norms and fundamental principles of humanity and justice that all States must respect.” 

“The incommunication and denial of consular and legal assistance represent a direct violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” said a communiqué published by the OAS on Friday, adding that Gallo’s arrest is “further proof of the systematic violation of fundamental human rights by the Venezuelan regime.”

Gallo was arrested on espionage charges at the border crossing with Colombia on December 8. His family says he was visiting his Venezuelan wife and their two-year-old son.

The case has become a major diplomatic incident between the countries. Argentine President Javier Milei sits at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, and the two have been at loggerheads since Maduro controversially claimed victory in July’s presidential elections — without providing proof.

IACHR’s precautionary measures are protection mechanisms through which the commission asks a state to protect people in a “serious and urgent situation” from “suffering irreparable harm.” In the last 35 years, they have granted such measures to thousands of at-risk individuals and groups, including human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists, and members of vulnerable groups.

Gallo’s whereabouts unknown

The IACHR urged the Venezuelan government to provide information about Gallo’s situation, as the authorities have declined to say where he is being held. On Thursday, a video showing Gallo in detention surfaced online, reportedly leaked by government officials to journalists in the country. They were the first images of him since his arrest.

In its resolution, the Organization of American States’ autonomous rights watchdog also asked Maduro’s administration to adopt the necessary measures to protect Gallo’s rights to life and personal integrity, report the circumstances of his detention, say whether he was brought before a court and whether he has been charged with a crime, and allow him to communicate him with his family, among other requests.

The IACHR stated that on December 17, 2024, Gallo’s lawyers in Venezuela were summoned to the Attorney General’s Office to receive information on his whereabouts. However, they were notified that the disappearance complaint they had filed would not proceed and the office provided no information. The commission requested information on Gallo’s physical and psychological status last week, but the Venezuelan government did not reply.

Meanwhile, the OAS demanded the Venezuelan regime to “immediately release” Gallo.

In a December 2023 yearly report, the IACHR warned of Venezuela’s persistent, coordinated repression and recommended that the government stop “illegal or arbitrary” detentions.

“The strategy of detention and criminalization is said to be directed particularly against those perceived as opponents of the regime, including journalists, opposition leaders, human rights defenders, among others,” the resolution said.

Milei to meet Venezuela’s González Urrutia

Tensions between Argentina and Venezuela have escalated since Gallo’s detention. The day before the IACHR announced its resolution, Argentina filed a complaint in the International Criminal Court against Venezuela, calling Gallo’s arrest an “arbitrary detention and forced disappearance.”

Eduardo González Urrutia, the Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate in the controversial 2023 elections, will meet President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on Saturday. 

The news, however, caused concern in the gendarme’s family. His partner, María Alexandra Gómez, said the meeting could complicate her husband’s situation.

“It scares the hell out of me because obviously, Nahuel’s situation from the very first moment was never political,” she said during an interview with Radio con Vos. “Nahuel did not come to destabilize Venezuela, he simply wanted to visit the country.”