He had been arrested in November 2024 on charges of 'terrorism.' He remained incommunicado and detained without judicial safeguards in Venezuela
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Another Argentine citizen arbitrarily detained by the Chavista regime in Venezuela has regained his freedom. This is Roberto Baldo, who was arrested in November 2024 on an accusation of "terrorism" and released a few days ago, although the news only became publicly known in the last few hours.
The information was confirmed to Infobae by sources linked to the NGO Foro Penal, an organization that provides legal assistance to people illegally detained by the Venezuelan dictatorship.
A detention surrounded by secrecy
Baldo's detention was kept confidential for several months. His case was mentioned only marginally in a Special Report on Political Prisoners with Foreign Nationality, published in March 2025 by Foro Penal.
That report stated that Baldo was arrested together with his wife, Montserrat Espinosa Irbern, who also regained her freedom. Both are owners of a pizzeria located in Los Palos Grandes, a residential area of Caracas.
Arrest, disappearance, and accusation of terrorism
Liberaron a Roberto Baldo, otro argentino detenido arbitrariamente por el régimen chavista
According to what has been reconstructed, the couple was detained on November 29, 2024 by alleged agents of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). After the arrest, they remained disappeared for several days, with no official information about their whereabouts or the reasons for the detention.
Only on December 2 were they brought before a judge, where they were charged with the crime of terrorism, a charge that the Chavista regime has used repeatedly to justify political or arbitrary detentions.
Foro Penal indicated that the case would be linked to an envelope left at Baldo's pizzeria, which was supposed to be delivered by a messenger to the Argentine embassy.
Detention conditions and allegations of human rights violations
Roberto Baldo — who holds Argentine and Venezuelan nationality — was detained at the Yare III Penitentiary Center, in the state of Miranda, while his wife was transferred to a Bolivarian National Police facility in El Valle, Caracas.
The Yare prison concentrates serious allegations of human rights violations. Reports by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) documented prolonged isolation, malnutrition, lack of medical care, and systematic torture. According to that organization, hundreds of inmates were subjected to total isolation regimes and deprived of basic treatments.
Another release in a week marked by international pressure
Baldo's release adds to that of Gustavo Gabriel Rivara, another arbitrarily detained Argentine citizen, whose release from prison was confirmed this Monday by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno.
Liberaron a Roberto Baldo, otro argentino detenido arbitrariamente por el régimen chavista
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry reported that Rivara appeared at the Argentine Embassy in Colombia, where he received assistance and documentation, and it reiterated the demand for the release of Nahuel Gallo and Germán Giuliani, who remain illegally detained in Venezuela.
According to information obtained by Infobae, Rivara was held at El Helicoide without formal charges or judicial process, in a case classified as arbitrary detention.
The Chavista regime and the persecution of foreigners
The detentions of foreign citizens are part of a systematic strategy by the Chavista regime, which uses arrests without judicial guarantees as a tool of political and diplomatic pressure.
International organizations and Western governments have repeatedly denounced these practices, which include incommunicado detention, unfounded accusations, and inhuman detention conditions.
Baldo's release represents a relief for his inner circle, but it once again exposes the critical human rights situation in Venezuela and the persistence of political prisoners and arbitrarily detained individuals under the regime that Nicolás Maduro left behind.
