Buenos Aires claims actions by Venezuela’s government could be considered “crimes against humanity”
Argentina has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and other officials, citing alleged human rights abuses during a crackdown on post-election unrest.
The Argentinian Foreign Ministry asserted on Friday that actions taken by Maduro’s government since the July 28 election could “constitute crimes against humanity.” The statement indicated that a request to the court will be submitted on Monday.
According to Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, Maduro won the July presidential election with 52% of the vote. However, the Western-backed opposition has accused officials in Caracas of rigging the ballot, with rival candidate Edmundo Gonzalez claiming he actually received 67% of the vote.
Protests erupted across the country following the announcement of the election results. Maduro condemned the unrest as an attempted “coup against Venezuela,” and over 2,000 demonstrators have been arrested. Caracas also launched a criminal investigation into opposition figures Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, after they urged the armed forces to withdraw their support for the president.
In the wake of the contested vote, numerous nations – including Russia and China – congratulated Maduro on his re-election. The US, alongside the EU and several other countries including Argentina, have subsequently refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimate president.
The dispute has ignited a war of words – with Maduro labeling the Argentinian president “monster face” after Javier Milei denounced Maduro as a dictator and demanded that he “get out.” Venezuela ordered the closure of Argentina’s diplomatic mission following the election and recalled its own staff from Buenos Aires.
Adding fuel to the fire, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reprimanded Milei for his apparent reluctance to address issues in his own country.
“Looks like Argentina has no problems of its own, and President Milei has already put all his campaign promises into practice?” she quipped.
Argentina, Latin America’s third largest economy, is grappling with a severe economic crisis stemming from decades of mounting debt and financial mismanagement. An estimated 55% of Argentina’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the socio-economic watchdog Social Debt Observatory of the Catholic University of Argentina. The figures indicate that 49.5% were living in poverty when President Milei was sworn into office in December 2023. Argentina’s inflation is one of the highest in the world, exceeding 260% over the last 12 months. The government has devalued the peso by more than 50% as part of Milei’s “shock therapy” reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy.