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The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) has ordered the Pre-Trial Chamber to resume the investigation against Nicolás Maduro and the main Chavista authorities. There was a "systematic attack against the civilian population," highlights the 22-page report signed by prosecutor Karim Khan, who did not allow himself to be seduced or threatened by the Bolivarian revolution.

"Since at least April 2017, thousands of opponents have allegedly been persecuted for political reasons, arrested and detained without an adequate legal basis; hundreds were allegedly tortured and more than 100 were allegedly subjected to forms of sexual violence including rape," says the Prosecutor's Office, which is clear that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela and are of such caliber that they deserve to continue being investigated and subsequently prosecuted.

This is the first investigation of this caliber in Latin America and a momentous step for the ICC in the future to apply measures similar to those already taken against Russian President Vladimir Putin against Maduro and his collaborators.

The crimes against humanity launched by the ICC mechanism are extra-summary executions, torture, rape, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. Crimes that the different United Nations reports have linked to Maduro himself, his closest collaborators and the Chavista generalate.

Khan argues that this "systematic" policy was encouraged and approved by the government and carried out by members of the State Security Forces, with the possible help of pro-government groups and individuals. Beatings, suffocation, drowning and electric shocks are part of the manual of Chavista torturers.

The prosecutor's forcefulness is even greater in arguing that the government has not been able to demonstrate "that it has conducted or is conducting national investigations or prosecutions that sufficiently reflect the scope of the investigation envisaged by the Court." In this way, Khan dismisses the main allegation of the Bolivarian revolution, who through his prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, insists that he has punished those who have carried out some of these criminal acts.

Another of the arguments put forward by Chavismo is that the crimes committed were not serious enough, despite their magnitude. The Office of the Prosecutor does not see it that way, far from it, and considers that there are reasons to believe that these crimes against humanity were committed. "Khan again refutes the arguments of the dictatorship and confirms that there is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed," summarized human rights activist Tamara Suju.

A few months ago, at the insistence of the prosecutor, the Bolivarian regime accused him of relying on "secondary sources lacking any credibility", of "marked partiality" and of "clear politicization".

Khan's investigations into human rights violations in Venezuela, added to the various United Nations reports, have become the main obstacle facing Maduro in his race to legitimize himself in the eyes of the international community. "Serious human rights violations continue to be carried out in Venezuela to date," Marta Valiñas, president of the UN Independent International Mission for Venezuela, said last week.

Despite the social control that government agents apply to the country, the demonstrations of recent months demanding better wages were once again repressed. Valiñas emphasized the lack of protection of citizens due to the lack of justice.

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner, also did not spare his criticism of the deaths in police operations, the persecution of journalists and activists, arbitrary detentions and the closure of media outlets.

During 2022 alone, at least 824 people lost their lives at the hands of police and military, according to the joint investigation of the NGO Provea and the Centro Gumilla Foundation, belonging to the Jesuits.

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  • Venezuela
  • UN
  • Vladimir Putin
  • Nicolas Maduro