Venezuela to Exit ICC Amid Bias Claims

Venezuela has announced its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing what it describes as the body’s bias against countries in the Global South, according to multiple reports. The government informed the United Nations of its “irrevocable” decision on Friday, following orders from interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia stated that Venezuela considers the ICC's actions to reflect a demonstrated geographical bias, disproportionately concentrating its work on African and Latin American countries. This pattern, he argued, reveals an international justice system that has been instrumentalized to deepen inequalities among peoples and disregard their right to self-determination and sovereignty.

The announcement comes amidst an ongoing investigation by the ICC into possible crimes against humanity committed by the Venezuelan government during a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2017. Venezuela’s National Assembly voted last December to cancel its commitments to the Rome Statute, which established the court. The move also follows a recent alignment with U.S. policies and one week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would wage a campaign to “systematically disable” the ICC's ability to function.

The ICC has sometimes been criticized for failing to apply the same standards to Western leaders as those from the Global South, with National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez previously describing the body as an instrument of “American imperialism.” The decision comes at a time when Venezuela has been pulled into greater alignment with U.S. policies and under the threat of further military actions.

The ICC recently dropped a war crimes case against Sudanese rebel Abdallah Banda, who was accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in Darfur nearly 20 years ago. Judges reluctantly terminated proceedings after prosecutors acknowledged they could no longer prove their case at trial. This decision comes as the global court faces concerted efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle it and as its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, faces a vote on whether to oust him over allegations he denies of sexual misconduct.