Venezuela accuses ICC of ‘shirking’ duties for closing Caracas office

Venezuela

Caracas – Venezuelan officials accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s office on Monday of “shirking” their duties after the court annouced it will close its Caracas office for lack of progress.

The ICC opened the bureau in 2024 to work alongside Venezuelan officians to investigate the South American country’s alleged crimes against humanity during protests in 2017.ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang has said the closure is a result of a lack of “real progress” in working with the Venezuelan government, but the investigation will continue.

In a statement, Venezuelan officials accused the ICC of failing to “show the slightest commitment or spirit of cooperation.”

The ICC “also did not provide contributions or recommendations to Venezuela’s various initiatives, irresponsibly shirking responsibilities it had previously assumed,” Venezuelan officials said, accusing the ICC of doing nothing while planning to “instrumentalize justice for political purposes.”

Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Canada filed a complaint with the ICC in 2018, accusing Venezuela of human rights violations.

The ICC gained formal recognition to work in Venezuela under an agreement with President Nicolas Maduro in November 2021.

Established in 2002, the ICC is the world’s only independent court devoted to investigating the most serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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