• Venezuela ICC prosecutor calls for continued investigations against Chavismo for crimes against humanity

Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has announced his imminent arrival in Caracas, despite the fact that he weighs a search and arrest warrant issued by the Russian authorities. Vladimir Putin is Nicolás Maduro's main international ally.

"International law and justice are too important to be left to judges and prosecutors, it must include everyone," Khan proclaimed during the press conference with which he ended his stay in Bogotá, in what seems a direct message to the Bolivarian revolution. Khan's trip to Caracas was kept completely secret and was announced by the prosecutor himself in the Colombian capital.

A trip fraught with questions, as Khan has received strong pronouncements from both Moscow and Caracas. In March, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, who are accused of illegally transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. Days later, he ordered the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber to resume the investigation against Maduro and the main Chavista authorities, after establishing that there was a "systematic attack against the civilian population."

The Kremlin reacted in turn by ordering the capture of the wayward prosecutor in May and the Bolivarian revolution turned him into its "black beast", considering him one of its main obstacles to carry out the whitening strategy in which regional partners such as Brazil's Lula da Silva and Colombia's Gustavo Petro participate.

The Bolivarian revolution then launched a campaign to discredit Khan, whom it accused of "relying on the fallacies of media and geopolitical aggression launched to accuse Venezuela of alleged crimes against humanity that have never occurred."

On the other hand, the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner and the Verification Mission confirm that during Maduro's decade at the head of the country, extra-summary executions, torture, rape, forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions have been carried out in a context of "systematic attack against the civilian population."

This is the first investigation of this caliber in Latin America and a momentous step for the ICC to apply measures similar to those already taken against Putin against Maduro and his collaborators. Almost 9,000 victims sent their testimonies to the Prosecutor's Office.

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. The government, according to the prosecutor, has not demonstrated "that it has conducted or is conducting domestic investigations or prosecutions that sufficiently reflect the scope of the investigation envisaged by the Court."

Venezuelan human rights organizations believe Khan will bet on the opening of an office in Caracas, which was left pending after his visit last year.

  • Nicolas Maduro
  • Vladimir Putin
  • Venezuela

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