Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich called into question the participation of Argentina’s men’s national football team in the U-20 South American Championships, to be held in Venezuela from January 23 to February 16. Her comments come as tension between the two countries is flying high following the arrest of Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo in Venezuela in early December.

“What difference does it make if it’s a military policeman or a football player?” Bullrich asked during an interview with CNN. “They could be accused of anything: ‘Argentina sent a policeman among the players,’ and they arrest that one. It’s a very big risk.”

Bullrich added that it was “impossible to know what could happen.” She also proposed that Conmebol change the host nation. 

“Can the South American Championship be hosted in Venezuela? Conmebol should consider that,” she said. “How can Argentina send these kids knowing that they could be kidnapped?”

The security minister added that the government is working on a protocol to inform Argentine security officials and citizens of places they’d be at risk during a trip.

A Conmebol spokesperson told the Herald that the situation is being monitored. No changes regarding the hosting of the tournament have been made yet.

Tensions between Argentina and Venezuela over Gallo’s case have escalated since the detention of the military policeman at a border crossing on December 8. 

The Venezuelan government admitted on December 16 to having arrested Gallo. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused him of being “on a mission” in the country, while his relatives say he was visiting his partner and son. The Milei administration insisted that Gallo had been legally authorized to enter the country, while Caracas claimed that he was not.

On January 3, the Argentine government filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Venezuela over the case. The foreign ministry released a communiqué the day before, calling Gallo’s arrest an “arbitrary detention and forced disappearance,” which “constitutes a grave and flagrant violation of human rights, evidencing a systematic pattern of crimes against humanity” committed in Venezuela.