Thirty former Ibero-American presidents asked the Prosecutor’s Office on Friday International Criminal Court (ICC) “the immediate capture and detention” of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Madurofrom his number two Diosdado Cabello and the entire chain of command in the country.
«For the first time, 31 former presidents, former heads of state of Latin America and Spain, sign a document (…) calling for the immediate capture and detention of Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello and the entire chain of command in Venezuela»the former Colombian president told EFE Andres Pastranawho on behalf of the signatories submitted a six-page legal brief to the Court’s Prosecutor’s Office.
Among the signatories are also the Spanish Felipe Gonzalez, Jose Maria Aznar y Mariano Rajoy; as well as the Colombians Alvaro Uribe e Ivan Duke; the Argentine Mauricio Macri; the Mexican Vicente Fox or the Bolivian Carlos Mesa.
«It is important to note that in Spain Felipe González, José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy signed it. The only former president who did not sign it is (José Luís Rodríguez) Zapatero»Pastrana stressed after meeting with the prosecutor’s team Karim Khan at the headquarters of the ICC.
The signatories, who are part of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA-Democrática), denounced in their legal report “widespread and systematic violations of human rights,” including “crimes against humanity” by the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, which they accuse of “state terrorism.”
This complaint, which extends to members of the Venezuelan Army as the fundamental support of the Maduro regime, is added to the case opened against Venezuela at the ICC in 2021.
In November of that year, the ICC prosecutor opened a formal investigation against Venezuela after having examined the allegations of Peru, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile y Paraguayclaiming that crimes against humanity had been committed in the country since February 12, 2014.
For now, the investigation is being carried out against Venezuela and not against any senior officials from the Latin American country.
The “core” of the legal report presented by the former Ibero-American leaders focuses on the existence of the Constitutional Law of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, which was sanctioned on January 29, 2020, which names Maduro commander in chief, such that since then he is the highest hierarchical authority of the Army, as provided for by law.
“It is important because, according to this document, Venezuela ceases to be a civilian state and becomes a military state.”Pastrana said, and Maduro, in his role as supreme commander, is “directly responsible for what is happening through the operational chain of command,” as well as the other positions, since “due diligence today is no longer an excuse to exempt you from investigations.”
“There is state terrorism promoted directly by the President of the Republic,” said Pastrana, who offered the International Criminal Court the cooperation of the IDEA group to obtain “evidence, proof, legal support” so that it can act “quickly” in the case against Venezuela.
In his meeting with prosecutor Khan’s team, Pastrana also wanted to “draw attention to what was happening” in the country and to the “concern” for the safety of Colombian opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, whose situation is “very fragile,” as well as the “more than 1,200 political detainees.” EFE (I)
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