In a May 2026 interview, Vanesa Giuliani, sister of Germán Giuliani, an Argentine citizen unlawfully detained in Venezuela since May 2025, spoke about the deep pain and uncertainty her family continues to endure. She described feeling abandoned by the Argentine government, saying political interests have become the main obstacle to her brother’s release. Vanesa said Germán is only allowed a monitored two-minute phone call every 15 days and is emotionally devastated following their father’s death. She criticized the lack of media attention in Argentina and stressed that sustained public pressure is urgently needed. While thanking activists and independent media for keeping the issue alive, she warned that “every day counts” and pleaded for Germán and all political prisoners in Venezuela to be freed before it is too late.

How is the family coping with Germán’s prolonged arbitrary detention?

The family is broken. In the sense that we are living through intermittent pain. Because it eases knowing that he is alive and with the hope that he will be released, but it intensifies over time due to the lack of answers.

How do you deal with and overcome frustration when things don’t seem to move forward?

We keep moving forward because there is no other option; the family is not going to give up the fight.

In my case, I am always thinking: what more can be done? Amid the frustration, amid the pain, and often with fear, it still has to be done.”

How do you stay hopeful and lift your brother’s spirits?

My sister-in-law handles that, but it’s difficult. On one hand, he needs to know the truth about what is happening, and everything is so uncertain. So today we cannot reassure him, today he is desperate. Other families tell me the same thing: they cannot keep them there; they have to release them. Because they are killing them.

What are the toughest parts and main challenges of trying to free Germán?

The hardest part is when, after speaking out and exposing everything, you are left with nothing. You feel empty, without answers and without results. Facing people who lie and play with our hopes is hard, and the silence is painful, the lack of information, the lack of commitment. Here in Argentina, we have suffered from that. A state that did what was minimally expected, but does not take one step further regarding human rights and the life of my brother. We feel alone. No one calls us.

Are you getting the support you need from organizations, the media, and others? How could they help more?

I receive much more support from social media than from traditional media. There are international media outlets committed to the cause, and that support is felt. Thanks to YouTube live channels such as #HastaQueCaigaLaTiranía, #LaKatuar, from Argentina, and La Guarimba Digital. They do daily work to raise awareness about what is happening in Venezuela, and that is important because the regime lies and uses the media to spread falsehoods.

In Argentina, very few media outlets talk about Venezuela, and very little is said about my brother, he is invisible. There is very little information in Argentina. It is frustrating.

What helps is consistency. We know the news gets buried, and sometimes it is convenient to talk about other things, but this is the moment to apply pressure. We need the media to talk about this issue, but because they are political and pressured by power, the power of funding, companies, or group interests, they talk about what those interests want. That is how it is in Argentina.

Unfortunately, ordinary citizens own nothing; they have to beg and plead to be heard, reaching the limit of desperation.

They help by exposing abuses and doing investigative work. There are many very good ones, but we need more voices.

Are you able to talk to Germán? How is he holding up?

My sister-in-law is the one who speaks with him. Every 15 days, they allow him a 2-minute phone call, on speakerphone and with a guard standing in front of him. They allowed him to call for his son’s birthday. After he received precautionary measures, they have been more flexible, but I have not spoken with him myself.

However, I make sure my messages reach him. What matters most to me is his release. If tomorrow they allowed him to communicate more, that would be good, but at the same time it would feel like a mockery, they simply need to release him.

The Argentine government has been vocal about Germán’s case. Are there any updates on what they are actually doing to free him? What do you think the main obstacles are in your government’s efforts to free Germán?

You say it has been vocal, but I have no evidence of a formal letter or request to Delcy Rodríguez, no direct dialogue, no appeal to the U.S. The request for his freedom is not reaching anyone on his behalf from the Argentine government. A request to Rick Scott to advocate for the only Argentine still left in Venezuela, I am the one asking directly if no one in my government managed to do it. He is the only Argentine left there, and that is very hard. They treat him like a criminal, and they treat our entire family that way. In Argentina, there is no unity. Everything is a fight, and everything comes with a political cost, and no one takes risks, especially not for an ordinary citizen.

The real obstacles are politics. Political interests.

Venezuela has already released several foreigners, including an Argentinian citizen. Why do you think your brother has not been released yet?

I don’t know why my brother has not been released. I can think of many possibilities, but I have no certainty. What I do know is that the Argentine government is not helping make that happen today. While my brother remains detained, they present the other Argentine who was released as a plaintiff in the case against Maduro, and the names of those who allegedly tortured him are being publicly denounced, even though we know those people are still inside the detention centers in Venezuela.

We are alone in this fight, facing decisions that do not take us into account.

Is there anything else you would like to share or talk about?

Today, my brother is not doing well. He is deeply affected by my father’s death, and I fear for his health. I do not know how much longer he will be able to endure in this condition, without support. I ask that he be released now! Him and all political prisoners, we ask that they not be killed and that they be freed. We want nothing more than that.

Thank you to everyone who raises their voice about this social and human tragedy that we, the families and political prisoners, are living through.

It is URGENT. EVERY DAY COUNTS.

My question to Donald Trump, who said they are going to free everyone, is: WHEN? “Soon” is not an answer we can accept.