Venezuela notified the United Nations of its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court on Friday, instructing the foreign ministry to denounce the Rome Statute and commence a definitive exit. The announcement, made on social media by Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia, said the move was ordered by Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after the ouster of Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January. The ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during Maduro’s tenure—formally opened in 2021 for events from 2014 onward—remains active, and The Hague stated that a withdrawal takes one year to take effect and does not nullify pre-existing obligations.

Caracas justified the withdrawal by accusing the court of a “demonstrated geographical bias” that disproportionately targets African and Latin American nations, a pattern it described as lawfare that deepens inequalities and violates sovereignty. The government also pointed to the ICC’s dismissal in March of its own complaint that US sanctions constituted crimes against humanity, and to the closure of the court’s technical office in Caracas last December after a lack of cooperation. Venezuela’s parliament had already voted unanimously in December 2025 to repeal the Rome Statute adhesion, a move legislators then framed as a denunciation of “North American imperialism.”

From The Hague, the ICC said it had not yet received formal notification, regretted the decision, and stressed that the withdrawal would not affect the current probe nor relieve Venezuela of obligations arising while it was a member. The announcement coincided with the dismissal by ICC member states of chief prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual assault allegations, which he denies—a coincidence that drew attention in European capitals to the court’s internal challenges. Analysts in Latin America note that Rodríguez’s interim government, despite the removal of Maduro by Washington, continues the same institutional resistance to international scrutiny of state security forces’ conduct.

Viewed from some African Union members who have previously threatened ICC exit over perceived Africa-targeting, Venezuela’s complaint mirrors a long-standing criticism of the court’s focus on the Global South. The US, which is not a party to the ICC and imposed sanctions on the tribunal and its judges earlier this year over the Israel-related warrant, has not commented on the Venezuelan withdrawal. Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, the denunciation takes effect one year after the UN receives the notification; during that period, Caracas remains theoretically obliged to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, which the ICC’s office of the prosecutor insists will continue from The Hague.