US welcomes Venezuela’s move to leave international court, urges others to follow

The US on Saturday welcomed Venezuela’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging remaining members to follow suit and leave the tribunal’s founding treaty.

“The U.S. welcomes the decision by interim President Delcy Rodriguez and Venezuela to withdraw from the ICC,” it said in a post on US social media company X.

It also praised the new Venezuelan government’s cooperation with Washington’s efforts to “dismantle” the Hague-based court.

The agency accused the ICC of failing to produce results from its investigation into former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro while directing resources toward countries with “competent, independent judicial systems” that had not accepted the court’s jurisdiction.

“This is blatant overreach, political bias and selective enforcement,” it said, describing the court as neither credible nor legitimate.

The agency said Maduro is facing justice before a US court for crimes he allegedly committed, crediting President Donald Trump and US service members.

“It is time to dismantle the ICC,” it added, urging all member states to withdraw from the Rome Statute — the court’s founding treaty.

Venezuela formally notified UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday of its decision to begin a permanent withdrawal from the court.

Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia accused the ICC of geographic bias against African and Latin American countries, and said it had been used to undermine the sovereignty of nations in the Global South.

Venezuela’s National Assembly had previously repealed the ratification of the Rome Statute, paving the way for the withdrawal. The ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela was formally opened in 2021.