Buenos Aires, March 1 (NA) — Journalist Gustavo Bañez, a columnist for Radio Rivadavia, asked on Sunday to be “very cautious” with reports of a possible release in Venezuela of Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo, whose relatives learned yesterday that he had been transferred from the “El Rodeo 1” prison. The specific information obtained by the Argentine News Agency is that last night, relatives outside El Rodeo 1, who communicate with prisoners by shouting, were able to learn from them that Nahuel Gallo had been transferred from there. One possibility is that this transfer is a step towards his release, which, hopefully, is the case. And if so, an official confirmation is expected in the coming hours. “The second possibility,” he added, “is that he was simply transferred to another detention center or some other place to keep him kidnapped.” The possible release of Gallo gained prominence after it was learned that prisoners in El Rodeo 1, shouting from inside the prison, informed relatives in the vicinity that the Argentine gendarme had been transferred from there to an unknown destination. “We must be cautious with this information and wait for an official confirmation. Italy is the one working in Venezuelan territory because it has the consular representation of Argentina after Brazil left it, and Argentine authorities are seeking unofficial channels with the United States, Italy, and also with organizations within Venezuela to try to get this confirmation,” he stated. Bañez emphasized that the concrete fact is that “he has been transferred” from the prison where he has been detained for 450 days, and said that while “his exact whereabouts are not known,” there is “maximum expectation of an official confirmation in the coming hours.” “Does this mean he was released?” Bañez asked and answered himself: “No, this does not mean the release.” The journalist stressed in his statements to Radio Rivadavia that “this methodology is not the usual one that chavismo has used in the releases of recent weeks, because (the release) was not informed to the embassy, nor was it informed to the family.” “Here some alternatives are opening up.”
