Argentina files ICC complaint against Venezuela over officer's arrest

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's government said on Thursday it had filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against Venezuela for detaining a member of its gendarmerie, a branch of Argentina's security forces, calling it a "forced disappearance."

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil rejected the complaint to the ICC, calling it a "pitiful spectacle," in a post on Telegram.

Tensions between the two South American countries have risen since Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian, assumed Argentina's presidency in late 2023. Relations worsened after Venezuela's contested presidential election in July, in which incumbent socialist President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory.

Last month, Argentina accused Caracas of detaining Nahuel Gallo, a member of its gendarmerie, after he tried to enter Venezuela from a crossing in Colombia to visit family. They demanded his immediate release.

"He is not disappeared," Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek Saab said in a message to Reuters on Thursday. "He is detained and being processed before the relevant court."

Venezuelan prosecutors have said Gallo is being investigated for alleged links to a group seeking to carry out destabilizing and "terrorist" actions.

"Argentina's government will continue to use all legal and diplomatic resources to guarantee the rights of its citizen, Nahuel Gallo," the Argentine foreign ministry said in a statement.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath in Buenos Aires, additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Editing by Richard Chang and Sonali Paul)

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