[REVISION HISTORY]
Venezuela exits ICC, appoints new military command
Updated 6 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.
What changed
2026-07-26 15:03 UTC → 2026-07-26 20:27 UTC ·
added
removed
On 24 July 2026 interim President Delcy Rodríguez ordered Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia to file a formal notice with the UN that Venezuela will withdraw from the International Criminal Court under Article 127 of the Rome Statute. The withdrawal, withdrawal was described by Plasencia on X as “firm and irrevocable,” is irrevocable” and justified by the government as a response to what it calls a alleged geographic bias that it says disproportionately targets African and Latin American states. The National Assembly’s December 2025 repeal of the Rome Statute enabled the step. The step, and the ICC’s investigations into alleged crimes against humanity from the 2017 protest crackdown protest‑crackdown crimes will continue during the one‑year notice period. The same day Rodríguez reshaped the senior military command, appointing General in Chief Gustavo González López as Minister of Defense and assigning Major General Rubén Belzares, Admiral Víctor Borjas and Major General Juan Ernesto Sulbarán to lead the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard respectively. In a A ceremony the following day Rodríguez also signaled a gradual resumption of consular relations with Peru. The U.S. Department of State Department welcomed the withdrawal, labeling the ICC “corrupt” “corrupt, useless, not credible, independent nor legitimate” and urging other member states to abandon the Rome Statute. Washington noted that the ICC has been investigating President Nicolás Maduro since 2018 without result and highlighted Maduro’s current detention in the United States. NGOs such as Provea and the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners continued to condemn the exit, while the ICC reiterated that Venezuela remains bound by the Statute for one year and must cooperate with ongoing investigations.
Versions
- 2026-07-26 20:27 UTC Venezuela exits ICC, appoints new military command
- 2026-07-26 15:03 UTC Venezuela exits ICC, appoints new military command
- 2026-07-26 13:16 UTC Venezuela ICC withdrawal and new military leadership
- 2026-07-26 09:36 UTC Venezuela ICC withdrawal and new military leadership
- 2026-07-26 05:41 UTC Venezuela ICC withdrawal and new military leadership
- 2026-07-26 03:42 UTC Venezuela ICC withdrawal and new military leadership
- 2026-07-26 00:12 UTC Venezuela ICC withdrawal
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