Argentina asks ICC to arrest Nicolás Maduro and other tyrannical leaders

This Friday, the Argentine government formally asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro and other leaders of the Venezuelan regime. The request is based on the events that have taken place in Venezuela since July 28, the day of the presidential elections in that country.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry, under the direction of Diana Mondino, explained in a statement that it has requested that the ICC Prosecutor issue arrest warrants against Maduro and his collaborators, arguing that the recent events in Venezuela constitute crimes against humanity. The formal note will be delivered next Monday, accompanied by evidence collected during ongoing investigations.

"The evidence collected in the course of the investigations being carried out by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ("Situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela I") and the events that occurred after the July 28 presidential elections are sufficient elements to consider the merits of the issuance of the aforementioned arrest warrants," Argentina stated.

Context of the request

The crisis in Venezuela worsened after the presidential elections in which Nicolás Maduro was declared winner with 52% of the vote by the National Electoral Council, which is controlled by the ruling party. The opposition alleged electoral fraud after collecting and analyzing more than 83% of the electoral records obtained by witnesses and table members during the election, which triggered protests that were harshly repressed. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights(IACHR) reported three deaths and 1,581 arbitrary detentions in the first days of protests, while the Maduro regime admitted 27 deaths.

Given the increase in violence andhuman rights violations, Argentina decided to rejoin the referral on the situation in Venezuela, from which it had withdrawn in 2021. This new request takes up the original request from 2018, when several countries, including Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru, requested an investigation into human rights violations committed by the Maduro regime.

The ICC must now analyze the evidence presented to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to issue the arrest warrants, an important step in the fight against serious human rights violations in Venezuela.