The Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced this Monday that it will close its office in Caracas for the lack of “real progress” with Venezuela in terms of “complementarity”, the principle that requires the country in question to seriously investigate the crimes of which it is accused before this court intervenes.
The deputy prosecutor, Dear explained in his opening speech to the 24th Assembly of States Parties of the ICC that, despite the “sustained commitment” maintained with the Venezuelan authorities, the ICC concluded that “real progress remains a challenge”, which is why it decided to close the office installed in the South American country in 2024 to work together with the Venezuelan authorities.
“Aware of the need to effectively manage our limited resources, we have decided to close our office in Caracas,” Niang said.
However, Niang stressed that the investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela “remains active” and led by a team of prosecutors who will continue to work from The Hague.
Caracas always rejected this investigation arguing that the principle of complementarity should be respected, by which the international court complements the country’s national justice, does not replace it, and can only intervene if the affected State does not investigate.
The closure of the office marks a turn in the relationship between the ICC and Caracas, which for months held exchanges with the court regarding criminal responsibility for accusations of human rights violations in the country.
The prosecutor Karim Khan said in April 2024 that the opening of that office was a “unique opportunity” to continue advancing investigations into alleged crimes against humanity and create – he noted – a link between the laws and the technical support that they will provide to the Caribbean nation.
The ICC opened the investigation into Venezuela in 2018 following a referral from several countries. He Government of Nicolás Maduro It repeatedly tried to stop the case, alleging that its judicial system is carrying out internal investigations, but the Court rejected that position in 2023 and authorized the resumption of investigations into crimes against humanity committed since 2017.