Venezuela’s Withdrawal from the ICC

The U.S. State Department expressed approval over Venezuela’s recent announcement to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a decision led by Interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

This past Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia Gonzalez shared that they had informed UN Secretary-General António Guterres about their “firm and irrevocable decision” to start the withdrawal process.

Plasencia cited “geographical bias” as the reason for this move, suggesting that the ICC disproportionately targets African and Latin American nations.

“This pattern reveals that far from being applied fairly, the international justice system has been used to deepen inequalities between peoples and to ignore their rights to self-determination and sovereignty,” he posted on X.

Rodriguez echoed this sentiment during a public appearance. She remarked, “The International Criminal Court has been highly politicized to attack the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan state, and we do not believe in such organizations and institutions.”

Reports indicate that Venezuela’s National Assembly had prepared for this move as early as December, opting to repeal the law that ratified the Rome Statute, which is crucial for the court’s functioning.

Recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted the Trump administration’s intent to dismantle the ICC. In a video, Rubio stated that the ICC’s role is limited, focusing on severe crimes only when local courts cannot handle cases.

“But the truth is that it was much more radical and extreme. It was a world tribunal staffed by unelected globalist bureaucrats who claimed their power was almost unlimited,” he said.

In context, the ICC has been investigating alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela and has suggested there are grounds for potential prosecution of various Venezuelan figures since 2017.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military attempted a precision operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro for criminal charges.

In a statement released on Saturday, the State Department praised Venezuela’s exit from the ICC. It noted that the ICC had been investigating Maduro since 2018 but with no tangible results.

“The United States welcomes Interim President Delcy Rodriguez and Venezuela’s decision to withdraw from the ICC and the new Venezuelan government’s collaboration in the U.S.-led effort to dismantle the corrupt and worthless ICC,” the statement read.

“The so-called court has been ‘investigating’ Nicolás Maduro since 2018, but with no results,” it continued. “Instead, it wasted resources on countries with functioning judicial systems.”

The U.S. reiterated Rubio’s stance, calling for the dismantling of the ICC and urging all member states to withdraw from the Rome Statute. Interestingly, the United States itself is not a member of the ICC.