In a virtual press conference with international journalists, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, instructed Chancellor Jorge Arreaza this Wednesday to file with the International Criminal Court (ICC) a series of reports with videos and contracts related to the recent attempted armed incursion into the country, adding to the lawsuit filed on February 13 about the impact of unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States government.
“I have ordered Chancellor Jorge Arreaza to begin filing a series of reports in The Hague with all the evidences of the mercenary operation against Venezuela, to send a set of reports with the corresponding videos and contracts regarding this aggression […] that may join the lawsuit before the ICC”, said the president in the videoconference, during which he provided a set of elements and testimonies that link the US and Colombian governments with the failed operation.
On February 13, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza submitted a referral to the ICC prosecutor, in The Hague, Netherlands, to determine responsibilities regarding the effects and consequences on the Venezuelan people of the unilateral coercive measures imposed by foreign countries, based on article 14 of the Rome Statute.
“We are convinced that the consequences of unilateral coercive measures constitute crimes against humanity”, said the diplomat at a press conference after the submission of the referral.
On March 7, the Chancellor announced that the International Criminal Court assigned the Venezuelan case to the Third Chamber of Preliminary Issues.
To the international press conference of the head of state were also connected the diplomatic corps accredited in the country and the Venezuelan representation abroad.