Argentine lawyer Germán Giuliani, detained in Venezuela since May 2025, recorded a video shortly after his arrest denying charges of terrorism and narcotrafficking, and expressing fear for his life. The footage, recently released, shows his desperation and plea for help from Argentine diplomacy and international organizations. His wife, Virginia Rivero, confirmed the video's authenticity and renewed the call for his release.
Germán Giuliani arrived in Venezuela on April 5, 2025, for work and business reasons. Days before his detention, his family reported a harassing atmosphere, with demands to show passport and cell phone for shopping. He was arrested in May 2025 in Caracas, charged by Venezuelan authorities with terrorism, narcotrafficking, and mercenarism. He spent seven months in a small command in Caracas, confined to a cell without leaving, except for an audience that did not succeed.
On December 21, 2025, he was transferred to Centro Penitenciario Yare II, in module 2, sharing a cell with foreign political prisoners. On January 16, 2026, he made a two-minute call to his family, informing his location.
A video recorded about a week after his detention began circulating on January 24, 2026, broadcast by TN and shared via Instagram on the 'Justicia para Giuliani' account, created by his sisters. In the message, Giuliani appears visibly affected: “I make this video because I fear for my life, I fear I won't get out of this. I'm locked up in a place in Venezuela. They've had me here incomunicado for over a week. I'm no terrorist nor do I talk politics.” Addressing his wife Virginia and three children, he said: “Virginia, I'm talking to you. And to my kids, I don't know if I'll see you again”.
As a lawyer, he stressed: “I know my rights, but I feel I have none.” He requested intervention: “I need Argentine diplomacy. I need international organizations, I appeal for this to be known, not just for me but so it doesn't happen to others.” His wife, Virginia Rivero, received it anonymously and described it as shocking: “You can't believe those things.” Rivero joined a protest at the Apostolic Nunciature in Buenos Aires, seeking Vatican intervention to free Giuliani and other political prisoners. She denied official versions, such as Diosdado Cabello's claim of arrest at sea for links to a Serb.
