The International Criminal Court (ICC) said its prosecutors are “actively monitoring” events in Venezuela in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election.
About 2,000 people have been arrested by security forces for demonstrating against President Nicolás Maduro after he was declared to have won a third term in the July 28 election.
The Venezuelan Electoral Council announced Maduro as the winner, despite widespread reports of victory for the opposition candidate, Edmundo González.
The United States and some other nations, such as Argentina, have not recognized Maduro as the winner of the presidential election; they instead recognize González.
Brazil’s left-wing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has also urged Maduro to release the voting tallies from all polling stations before he will recognize him as the winner.
In a written statement emailed to The Epoch Times, the office of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said that it’s “actively monitoring the present events and has received multiple reports of instances of violence and other allegations following the presidential election of 28 July in Venezuela.”
“In line with its work across situations, the office is independently evaluating all these reports and other information available within the scope of its mandate and jurisdiction,” the statement reads.
ICC Emphasizes ‘Rule of Law’
The statement said Khan’s office had “engaged with the government of Venezuela at the highest level to underline the importance of ensuring that the rule of law is adhered to in the present moment and emphasize that all persons must be protected from violations that may constitute Rome Statute crimes.”The Rome Statute is the treaty signed in 1998 to set up the ICC to govern crimes over which it has jurisdiction.
The ICC, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, has a remit to consider allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and “the crime of aggression.”
Maduro has insisted he won the election fairly and has called on Venezuelans to denounce those who doubt the result using a government-run app that was set up originally to report power cuts.
He also said the government was refurbishing two gang-dominated prisons to accommodate those convicted of offenses during political demonstrations.
Maduro said on Venezuelan state television, “There will be no mercy.”
The ICC has also been investigating violence stemming from Venezuela’s 2017 election but still has not identified any culprits or issued any arrest warrants.
The investigation began in late 2021 following an official referral, which is effectively a request to investigate, made in 2018 by Canada, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.
Khan’s office stated on Aug. 12 that “those investigations are continuing with focus.”
“Should any individual or organization have information that may be relevant to this ongoing investigation, we would welcome you to submit this,” it stated.
Venezuela’s Complaint Against US
The ICC’s website states, “The government of Venezuela states that crimes against humanity are committed ‘as a result of the application of unlawful coercive measures adopted unilaterally by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela, at least since the year 2014.’”The Venezuelan complaint is believed to be in regard to political and economic sanctions that were imposed on Caracas initially by the Obama administration.
Maduro has frequently criticized X owner Elon Musk after the U.S.-based Tesla and Space X entrepreneur called him a “dictator” and accused him of carrying out “major election fraud.”
Maduro said he decided to block Venezuelans’ access to X because Musk was “inciting hatred.”
