On 8 December 2024, Venezuelan authorities detained Argentine military police officer Nahuel Agustín Gallo after he entered the country from Colombia. According to Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gallo first travelled by car to Chile, then by plane to Bogotá, and finally by taxi to the Venezuelan border in order to reunite with his Venezuelan partner and their two-year-old child. On 27 December, the Venezuelan Public Ministry, led by Attorney-General Tarek William Saab, announced criminal charges against Gallo for alleged terrorist activities, accusing him of concealing a ‘criminal plan’ under the guise of a family visit. Argentina’s Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein dismissed these accusations, calling the detention arbitrary and insisting that Gallo’s sole purpose was to spend time with his family.
Organization of American States
Mexico and Ecuador at the ICJ: A Plea for Taking the Latin American Experience Seriously
On 5 April 2024, Ecuadorian special operation agents broke into the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Ecuador. Security footage released by Mexico captures the moment the agents forcefully subdued Deputy Chief of Mission Roberto Canseco Martínez as he attempted to prevent their entry. During the raid, the agents apprehended Jorge David Glas Espinel, the former Vice-President…
Nicaragua: Expatriation as an Aggravated Form of Political Persecution
In an unprecedented move in the modern history of international law, Nicaragua has stripped more than 300 dissident citizens of their nationality in the last two weeks. 222 of these citizens were deported to the United States on 9 February (see here), with the Managua Appeals Court (Tribunal de Apelaciones) removing their nationality the day…