The Venezuelan who received threats from Maduro's spies in Buenos Aires spoke out: "Argentina was not a safe place."

After learning of the legal filing in which the Apolo Foundation denounced the existence in Argentina of a Venezuelan transnational organization of the Nicolás Maduro regime that persecutes and threatens expatriates from that country, Clarín managed to contact José Zambrano , a young man who went into exile in Buenos Aires and, as a result of the threats he received, moved to the United States.

Zambrano spoke via WhatsApp with a firm voice, though still feeling like he had the eyes of Chavismo on his back, following him and his family for more than eight years . He denounced that those who persecuted him knew his every move, from his address, his schedule, and even the immigration procedures he and his family completed when they tried to leave Argentina.

The young man arrived in the country in 2018. A year earlier, he, his wife, and his mother had fled Venezuela to Ecuador due to the persecution of his mother by the Nicolás Maduro government. The woman worked in the Venezuelan Ministry of Culture and had had access to information about irregular handling of funds.

At that first destination, Chavista forces quickly made their presence known through letters sent to their home . They accused José's mother of stealing documents from the ministry. They tried to file a complaint there for the first time, but never received a response.

It was as a result of these threats that Zambrano and his wife moved to Argentina in an attempt to escape the Maduro government's radar. However, they were unsuccessful. His mother and brother, who remained in Ecuador, continued to receive messages reminding them that José was in Buenos Aires . And when they moved—first to Chile and then to Colombia—Chavez forces tracked them down and sent messages to their new addresses.

"I was called from Colombia, that they knew I was in Buenos Aires; at one point they were even called [by their family] because they knew I was in Belgrano ," Zambrano explained in an interview with Clarín .

Although during his first years in Argentina, the young man and his wife enjoyed relative peace, without being directly contacted by Chavista forces, that changed in 2022. That year, they began receiving notes directly at their home. "We received a letter in our mail room in the building, saying, 'We know what time you walk your dog, we're going to poison her ,'" he told Clarín .

It was as a result of that first threat, but also distressed by what his family was suffering abroad, that, according to Zambrano, he and his wife decided to file a complaint.

“We went to the police station, I tried to file a complaint, but they wouldn't take my physical. They simply gave us some security recommendations ,” the young man explained, adding, “They told me to write to the Buenos Aires prosecutor's office's complaint email.”

Meanwhile, in Colombia, his sister was receiving new messages directly mentioning Zambrano: "One of the threats she started receiving said, 'We know your brother is in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires; we also have him located,'" the young man recalled. Although José's sister tried to file a complaint in Medellín, there was no response there either, and she ultimately ended up seeking asylum in the United States.

In Argentina, the persecution of Zambrano and his wife continued. Both received daily calls from unknown numbers : "We thought it was this classic call offering telephone services, but no one heard us; we said hello, hello, and no one spoke , simply because it wasn't anyone in the end," he explained. These calls were compounded by threats on social media and WhatsApp , coming from accounts with no followers and from unknown numbers.

After making another complaint, this time to the prosecutor's email address, Zambrano received a complaint number. However, he says, they never contacted him again . Meanwhile, the messages and threats continued to pile up on his phone. He filed another complaint, but only received automated responses.

The situation escalated further one early morning when, while walking his dog, he noticed a vehicle parked outside his home. “I saw a car stopped at the entrance of my building . I saw two people inside, I made eye contact with them, and suddenly they swerved , started the car quickly, and drove off,” José said. He tried to report the incident again and asked to speak to the prosecutor handling the case, but received no response.

After constant persecution and no news from the authorities, in 2024 Zambrano and his wife decided to apply for a refugee program in the United States . She was granted asylum, but he had to wait a few months: "For the protection of my family, I decided that my wife would leave, and I looked at what other options I had for myself, but at least I would remove the risk of something happening to her," he explained.

The young man reported that those threatening him had studied his movements and those of his family in detail. They also knew details about his immigration status. For this reason, he does not rule out a connection between the Chavista spies and some sector of the Argentine state.

In May 2024, after his wife left for the United States, the harassment of him intensified: “Messages started arriving on Instagram. No one knew, apart from a couple of friends, that we were going to leave, and messages started arriving saying, 'We already know you're left alone,' it's going to be easier to reach you, we're going to screw you, we already know where you are.”

“There were several accounts, different accounts, Instagram direct messages with threats, harassment, information about our exact location, and then they found out I was alone in Buenos Aires with my two pets, my two dogs,” José said. He also began receiving WhatsApp alerts indicating that someone was trying to clone his phone.

On June 5, all members of her family received calls simultaneously, in the early hours of the morning. In the morning, in Medellín, her sister also received a note at her home: "We told you your time is up. You and your daughter and your brother José in Buenos Aires have their days numbered ."

“At this point, the authorities hadn't given me any protection. Argentina, no matter where I stayed, wasn't a safe place , and the fear we felt was affecting us psychologically,” she said.

Finally, in mid-June 2024, he received a response from the prosecutor's office, where he filed the complaint. They offered him a panic button . It was too late. José had left the country and settled in Mexico, awaiting approval for his visa in the United States.

The young Venezuelan said he continued to file complaints from his new residence, having learned in August that the Chavistas had included him on a wanted list. He believed everything was related. However, the prosecutor's office informed him that they would only investigate the events that occurred in the country.

Clarín contacted the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Justice to learn about the progress of the investigation. The agency confirmed that Zambrano's complaint was filed and proceeded with the 8th Criminal, Contravention, and Misdemeanor Prosecutor's Office. They also indicated that the case was closed because the young man left the country .

Zambrano has lived in the United States since September 2024. He says that since entering the country, neither he nor his wife have been contacted again.