Venezuela confirms irreversible withdrawal from International Criminal Court, citing bias against Global South

Formal notification to the UN

On Friday, 24 July 2026, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia announced on X that the government had formally notified the United Nations of its "firm and irrevocable" decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. The notification was sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the instructions of interim President Delcy Rodríguez. The move denounces the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the court, and marks the culmination of a process that began with a National Assembly vote in December 2025 to cancel Venezuela's commitments to the statute.

Accusations of geographical bias

The government justified the withdrawal by accusing the ICC of systematic bias against the Global South. Plasencia said the court's actions reflect a "demonstrated geographical bias" that has disproportionately concentrated its work on African and Latin American countries.

Venezuela considers that the Court's actions reflect a demonstrated geographical bias, which has disproportionately concentrated its work on African and Latin American countries, to the detriment of the Global South. This pattern reveals an international justice system that, far from being applied equitably, has been instrumentalised to deepen inequalities among peoples and disregard their right to self-determination and sovereignty.

In a separate statement carried by Italian news agency ANSA, the government added that the bias was "not a mere procedural coincidence" but the reflection of an institution serving interests foreign to justice. It rejected what it called "legal warfare" that perpetuates the persecution of the Venezuelan people and aggravates global inequalities. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez had previously described the ICC as an instrument of "American imperialism".

Background of the ICC probe

The ICC opened an investigation in 2021 into possible crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on antigovernment protests in Venezuela in 2017. The probe has been a persistent irritant in Caracas's relations with the court. In December 2025, the National Assembly voted to cancel the country's commitments to the Rome Statute, laying the legal groundwork for the withdrawal now executed by Delcy Rodríguez. She assumed the interim presidency after the United States abducted former President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation in January 2026. The subsequent rapprochement with Washington has unfolded under the shadow of potential further US military actions.

US alignment and Rubio's threat

The withdrawal announcement comes at a time of deepening alignment between Venezuela and the United States. Delcy Rodríguez has steered the government closer to Washington, even as the US itself has been one of the ICC's most vocal critics. One week before Venezuela's move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the US would wage a campaign to "systematically disable" the court's ability to function.

The ICC is waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law.

The Trump administration has previously imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutors involved in investigations into US and Israeli forces. Rubio's statement last week pointed to a further escalation of that pressure.

What comes next

With the formal notification delivered, Venezuela's withdrawal from the ICC is now in motion. The government has described the step as "irrevocable" and part of a broader rejection of what it calls the instrumentalisation of international justice. The move is likely to intensify the debate over the court's legitimacy and its perceived focus on the Global South, while also aligning Venezuela more closely with the US position on the ICC.