Venezuela Pulls Out of the ICC Claiming Western Bias

Author: Aahana Negwekar

August 3, 2026

HRRC condemns western attempts to utilize developing nations to diminish the power of the International Criminal Court. Western influence should not be used to exercise power on attempts at preserving international law.

Félix Plasencia González [Image credit: @plasenciafelixr/X]

On  July 24th, 2026, Venezuela told the United Nations it is leaving the International Criminal Court (ICC). Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia announced the decision, calling it “irrevocable.” Interim president Delcy Rodriquez, whose government has grown closer to the United States, has also backed the move. Officials say the ICC unfairly focuses on countries in Africa and Latin America, while not forcing powerful Western nations into compliance with ICC efforts.

This conflict has been building for years. The ICC began looking into Venezuela in 2020 and opened a full investigation in 2021. The case involves alleged crimes against humanity, including imprisonment, torture, rape, and the targeting of poltical opponents during a 2017 crackdown on protesters. Relations kept worsening from there. The Court closed its office in Caracas in January 2025, saying Venezuela had stopped cooperating with it entirely. 

However, leaving the Court is not an instant move. Under the ICC’s rules, a country’s withdrawal only takes effect one year after the United Nations (UN) is notified. This means that Venezuela will technically remain a member until around late July 2027. Even after that date, the Court can still investigate and prosecute crimes that happened while Venezuela was still a member. What does change is Venezuela’s duty to help the Court, such as actions like arresting suspects on its own soil. However, the ICC could still issue arrest warrants that apply if a suspect travels to a country that remains a member.

This announcement comes amid growing U.S. pressure on the Court. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said Washington wants to weaken the ICC’s power, and Rodriquez took over after the U.S. removed former President Maduro in a military operation in January. 

Venezuela now joins a small group of countries, including Burundi, the Philippines, and several African nations, that have exited the ICC. What these countries have in common is that they all describe it as resistance to Western influence. 

Glossary

• Crackdown – a severe, often sudden increase in enforcement or action designed to stop specific activities

• Diminish – to make or cause to seem smaller, less, less important, etc.; lessen; reduce.

• Prosecute – the institution and carrying on of legal proceedings against a person.