Venezuela says it will leave International Criminal Court

Venezuela will withdraw from the International Criminal Court because of what it sees as bias by the tribunal, Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia said Friday.

Plasencia wrote on X that Caracas had informed the United Nations of its firm and irrevocable decision to leave the ICC. He said interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who took over after US forces ousted Nicolas Maduro in January, had instructed the move.

Plasencia said Venezuela believes the court has shown geographical bias by concentrating its work disproportionately on African and Latin American countries.

The Hague-based ICC said it had not yet received formal notification of Venezuela's withdrawal. The court said it regretted any decision to leave what it called the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes. It said an official withdrawal takes one year to take effect.

The court added that, even after withdrawal, a state remains bound by obligations that arose while it was a party. It said withdrawal does not affect cooperation obligations from criminal investigations or proceedings that had already begun.

The ICC is investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed during crackdowns on protesters in Venezuela since 2014. In December 2025, Venezuela's parliament took steps to repeal the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding text, after the court closed its Caracas office, citing fruitless talks with the government. In March, the ICC dismissed complaints filed by Venezuela alleging that US sanctions amounted to crimes against humanity.

Plasencia's announcement came on the same day that ICC member states voted to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual assault allegations, which Khan denies. His lawyers said he would challenge the dismissal.

Khan had successfully applied in 2024 for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. When Donald Trump began his second term as US president in 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on the tribunal and its judges.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the ICC, which tries individuals accused of the world's worst crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.