07/05/2026
CICIVEN in the face of the unjustified delay of the Prosecutor’s Office
NOTHING EXPLAINS THE INACTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
The International Committee against Impunity in Venezuela (CICIVEN) reiterates its deepest concern and indignation over the unjustified delay in the “Venezuela I Case,” concerning crimes against humanity, and over the regrettable and unacceptable inaction of the Prosecutor’s Office, which, duly authorized and with no known legal obstacle, has not issued any summon to appear or arrest warrants demanded by the circumstances. The process was halted without any justification and without the Court generating the necessary actions to prompt the Prosecutor’s Office to fulfill its commitment to justice.
The ICC Prosecutor’s Office, on November 3, 2021—now four and a half years ago—closed the Preliminary Examination and initiated the Formal Investigation, authorized by the Pre-Trial Chamber (June 27, 2023) and later confirmed by the Appeals Chamber (March 1, 2024), after appeals filed by the criminal regime currently in power in Venezuela. Nevertheless, no progress has been made in the pursuit of justice for the victims.
CICIVEN recalls that the Court, in addition to having sanctioning powers—as expressed in the Rome Statute (1998)—also has a preventive function, which must be fulfilled in the Venezuela I Case, since serious crimes against humanity continue to be committed, without any action attempting to stop such repeated conduct.
The International Criminal Court is one of the main bodies to confront impunity for crimes against humanity, prosecute and punish those responsible, and protect and provide reparations to victims. For this reason, since 2020, when we established CICIVEN, we have firmly supported the ICC, while not failing to express our concern about its functioning and effectiveness as an institution of international criminal jurisdiction. Today we raise our voice with even greater concern: what is the ICC Prosecutor’s Office waiting for in order to act? Nothing justifies that thousands of victims—more than eleven thousand five hundred (11,500), according to the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) of the ICC—have ratified their complaints before the Pre-Trial and Appeals Chambers (2023 and 2024) without receiving any response, while new victims continue to emerge persistently.
CICIVEN once again calls on the International Criminal Court and its bodies, especially the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties, the Presidency of the Court, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, to act immediately and bring the alleged perpetrators of these crimes to justice, whose names have been duly reported and published by Heads of State, by reports from international organizations such as the OAS General Secretariat (2018) or those of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (in the last 5 years), and by numerous civil society organizations and victims.
We demand action now, which will have a preventive and deterrent effect in Venezuela.
In defense of the victims: let there be justice in The Hague!
In Miami, May seventh, two thousand twenty-six.
Board of Directors of CICIVEN: José Emilio Castellanos, Wilfredo Castro, Luis Corona, Juan José Monsant, Rosario Orellana, José Pinto and
William Cárdenas Paciano Padrón
President Vice President
Víctor Rodríguez Cedeño Walter Márquez
Director of International Relations Director General