A federal court in Argentina has ordered the “immediate” arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello for alleged crimes against humanity committed against dissidents.

Monday’s court order came in response to an appeal by Argentine prosecutor Carlos Stornelli after a previous ruling dismissed the complaint against both Venezuelan leaders.

Federal court members Pablo Bertuzzi, Leopoldo Bruglia and Mariano Llorens ordered that “the arrest warrants for Nicolas Maduro and Diosdado Cabello be executed immediately, and that their international arrest should be ordered via Interpol for the purposes of extradition to the Argentine Republic,” according to the resolution.

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Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists in August (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

The order comes hours after Venezuela’s Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Argentina’s President Javier Milei, amid a controversy between the two countries over the detention in Argentine territory — and delivery to the United States — of a cargo plane that Washington says was sold by a sanctioned Iranian airline to a Venezuelan state-owned company.

The tit-for-tat action heightens the tensions between Venezuela and Argentina that have been brewing since Mr Milei assumed power in December and has led to a breakdown in diplomatic relations.

The case against Mr Maduro and his right-hand man was brought before the Argentine courts by the Argentine Forum for Democracy in the Region in early 2023, taking into account Argentina’s jurisprudence on human rights and the principle of universal jurisdiction that allows action to be taken against crimes against humanity, even if they have been committed outside its borders.