On board the Gulfstream G600 flying back to Italy with Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlò, freed after more than 400 days in detention in Caracas, was Gianni Caravelli, director of Aise, Italy’s foreign intelligence service.
Caravelli’s presence in Caracas mirrors his covert mission in Tehran last year – a sign of direct intelligence involvement in the operation.
What’s happening:
- Trentini, a humanitarian worker, and Burlò, a Turin-based entrepreneur, were released after more than a year in Venezuela’s high-security El Rodeo 1 prison near Guatire.
- The aircraft carrying them landed at Ciampino Airport, in the restricted CAI area reserved for intelligence and sensitive state flights.
- Waiting on the tarmac were Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
First words:
- “We made it again, but it was incredibly hard,” Burlò said shortly after landing. Before boarding the flight from Caracas, Trentini added: “I can’t wait to hug my family.
- I’m free. I want to thank Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Italian government, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, and the diplomatic corps that worked to secure my release and Mario’s.”
Behind the scenes: According to Tajani, Italy’s diplomacy had been working “for 423 days”, largely out of the public eye.
- “We were focused on one thing: bringing him home,” the foreign minister said, stressing that the nature of the accusations was secondary to securing freedom for Italian citizens.
- “Our goal now is the release of the remaining 42 Italians with dual nationality.”
- Italian officials describe the outcome as the result of months of silent, coordinated work involving diplomacy, intelligence and political leadership at the highest level.
Why it matters: Italy is increasingly relying on discreet, intelligence-backed diplomacy to secure the release of its citizens detained abroad — a model that blends political authority, diplomatic channels and covert operational capacity.
- The operation reinforces Rome’s claim that strategic silence, rather than public pressure, is often decisive in hostage and detainee cases.
The big picture: The release comes amid a broader realignment in Venezuela following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro after a U.S. military operation ordered by Donald Trump on Jan. 3, 2026. This watershed moment reshaped Caracas’ political landscape and intensified international engagement.
- Italian officials see the freeing of Trentini and Burlò as “a first step toward closing a painful chapter,” while acknowledging that negotiations for other detained nationals are still ongoing.
Bottom line: Rome is signalling that when Italian citizens are held abroad, the state is prepared to deploy every instrument of national power – quietly, and all the way to the runway.
- During an information session in the Senate on recent developments in Venezuela, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated: “We know that the work is not yet finished. We have always said that we would work tirelessly to bring our fellow citizens home. We did so. And we will continue to do so.”
