Nahuel Gallo released from Venezuelan prison with key help from the AFA

Argentine military police officer Nahuel Gallo, who had been detained in Venezuela for over a year on counts of conspiracy and espionage, was released on Sunday night, with key assistance from the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno made the official announcement, highlighting “its gratitude for the many efforts made by allied countries,” which “helped exert the international pressure” to secure Gallo’s release.  However, it quickly became apparent that one organization, which played a key role in  Gallo’s liberation, went unmentioned: the AFA. The football organization is in a longstanding feud with the government of Javier Milei, which began over differences in the management model clubs should follow and has now expanded into legal battles and financial disputes. AFA broke the news of Gallo’s liberation twenty minutes before Quirno, when they released a short statement thanking Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez and the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF). “[This] demonstrates that sport can also be an effective bridge for understanding and cooperation for humanitarian action of this magnitude,” said the AFA, which also highlighted that “the bonds forged through soccer can contribute positively to the well-being of our nations.” The AFA provided an airplane to facilitate Gallo’s return to the country. Their message was accompanied by a photo of Gallo about to board the flight to Argentina, with AFA deputy secretary Luciano Nakis and the organization’s director of institutional relations, Fernando Isla Casares. Shortly after Quirno’s announcement, journalist Pablo Ibáñez reported the talks between the AFA and FVF had started “more than a year ago” when AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia traveled to Venezuela for the 2025 South American U-20 Championship.  Congresswoman Marcela Pagano also credited “the AFA sports diplomacy” as one of the keys to Gallo’s return. Pagano, who was elected to Congress running with Milei’s La Libertad Avanza, has since split off, arguing the President had “veered away from what he preached.” Tapia weighed in late on Sunday night. “Thanks to quiet, joint efforts by the Venezuelan Football Federation and CONMEBOL, today, after 448 days, Nahuel Gallo is returning to Argentina and can be reunited with his family,” he wrote on his X account.  “Football unites us, transcends borders, and shows that it is always possible to build bridges for understanding and cooperation.” Gallo arrived in Ezeiza at around 4:30 a.m. Argentina time, where his wife and the Minister of Security, Alejandra Monteoliva, waited for him. President Milei made no mention of his arrival in his start-of-the-year address to Congress on Sunday night, which he delivered for over an hour and a half.