Venezuela Rejects Decision Adopted by ICC Chamber

On Tuesday, the Venezuelan government expressed its disagreement with the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to authorize the resumption of an investigation against it.

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"Venezuela expresses its disagreement with the decision adopted by the Chamber of Preliminary Matters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to authorize the resumption of the investigation by the ICC Prosecutor's Office in the case known as 'Venezuela I'," stated the Bolivarian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Since the ICC Prosecutor's Office initiated the preliminary examination in February 2018 and throughout the entire process, Venezuela has denounced the intention to instrumentalize mechanisms of international criminal justice for political purposes linked to the "regime change" strategy promoted by the United States.

"As part of that strategy, national and international political actors have sought to sustain an accusation of alleged crimes against humanity that have never occurred, based on the deliberate manipulation of a limited set of human rights violations, which have been or are being investigated and sanctioned by the Venezuelan judicial authorities," recalled the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

"Venezuela regrets that this decision by the Chamber of Preliminary Matters serves to encourage and contribute to this maneuver, which clearly distorts the purpose of the ICC and undermines its credibility as an international justice body, despite all the information that has been made available to it."

The Venezuelan government announced that it will appeal this decision before the Appeals Chamber while continuing to make use of the actions provided for in the Rome Statute and International Law.

It will do so to "defend the truth and secure its rights as a nation against this offensive that openly exploits the institutional nature of the ICC for purposes contrary to its nature and the objectives pursued with its creation."