Trump administration celebrates Venezuela's withdrawal from ICC, calls to dismantle the court
A few days ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had stated that one of the White House's goals was to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC), "brick by brick if necessary."
Marco Rubio in Pasay, Manila / Brendan Smialowski
The Trump administration on Friday welcomed the decision by the regime in Venezuela to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and called on all member countries to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.
A few days ago, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had stated that one of the White House's objectives was to dismantle the ICC, "brick by brick, if necessary."
In this context, the Department of State welcomed the decision by Caracas to withdraw from the ICC and stated that the new Venezuelan government is joining the U.S.-led efforts to dismantle the court.
">The U.S. welcomes the decision by interim President Delcy Rodriguez and Venezuela to withdraw from the ICC and the new Venezuelan government's partnership on American-led efforts to dismantle the corrupt and worthless ICC.
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 25, 2026
The so-called court has been "investigating" Nicolas…
"The ICC is neither credible, independent, nor legitimate," stated the Department of State on X. It also criticized the tribunal's ongoing investigation into Nicolás Maduro since 2018, arguing that, after years of investigation, it has not produced concrete results.
Furthermore, it accused the court of straying from its original mission and instead devoting its resources to "investigating and charging persons from countries that have competent, independent judicial systems and which never submitted to the jurisdiction of the court."
"Thanks to President Trump's leadership and the efforts of brave American service members, Maduro is now facing justice in U.S. court for crimes he has committed. It is time to dismantle the ICC. The U.S. calls on all members of the ICC to withdraw from the Rome Statute," he added.
What is the Rome Statute?
Countries that ratify it accept the court's jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and commit to cooperating with its investigations.
However, some countries, including the United States, have never ratified the Rome Statute and maintain that the ICC has no authority to exercise jurisdiction over their citizens without their consent.
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