Venezuela has formally notified the United Nations of what Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia called an irrevocable decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. The tribunal had been conducting a multi-year investigation involving members of the armed forces and other officials.
Plasencia argued that the court displays geographical bias and disproportionately targets countries in the Global South, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez also accused the institution of being politicized and used against the Venezuelan state.
The withdrawal had been prepared in December, when the National Assembly repealed the law ratifying the Rome Statute. That vote took place one month before US forces removed former President Nicolas Maduro from power and opened the legal route for departure from the court.
The ICC prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression when national authorities are unwilling or unable to act. In 2020 it found a reasonable basis to believe that civilian officials, military personnel and pro-government actors had committed crimes against humanity in Venezuela since at least 2017.
Karim Khan opened a formal investigation in 2021 after becoming prosecutor. The Venezuelan government rejected the process, and the court closed its Caracas office in January 2025 after citing a lack of cooperation from the Maduro administration.
Venezuela's notice coincided with a vote by ICC member states to dismiss Khan following sexual misconduct allegations that he denies. Eighty-two of the court's 125 members backed his removal, adding an institutional crisis to the moment of Venezuela's departure.
The move also comes during a post-Maduro transition strongly shaped by Washington. US forces seized Maduro in January and brought him to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges, while Rodriguez has developed a close relationship with the Trump administration.
Washington has not announced a timetable for new Venezuelan elections and has spoken of dismantling the ICC. President Donald Trump said Venezuela was not yet ready to vote, while praising Rodriguez and the progress made under her acting government.
