Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza at the International Criminal Court, the Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 13, 2020. | Photo: Twitter/ @Punto_deCorte
“On instructions from President Nicolas Maduro, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza arrives in The Hague and introduces a complaint to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed by the US government against the people of Venezuela. Justice against the blockade.”
On Feb. 13, 2020, the government of Venezuela and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros have filed an international lawsuit against the United States Government and the Trump Administration in the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging crimes against humanity (Crimens de lesa Humanidad).
The case was presented to the court by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, exposeing the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the U.S. government in its failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the seemingly endless parade of overwhelming putative and targeted sanctions imposed against the Caribbean nation. These sanctions are not only imposed against government officials but against food and medical programs and anyone who helps them, effectively against the entire population. Lest it go unsaid, these crippling sanctions were begun by the Administration of US President Barack Obama, embraced and executed by then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012. Concurrent with her abysmal failure and intervention in Libya, turning that once thriving African nation into a failed state – such were their plans for Venezuela. Were Joe Biden to win the White House, rest assured, he would continue the current policy.
#FOTOS | Por instrucciones del Pdte. @NicolasMaduro el canciller Jorge Arreaza llega a La Haya e introduce una denuncia ante la Corte Penal Internacional por los crímenes de lesa humanidad cometidos por el gobierno de EEUU contra el pueblo de Venezuela. #JusticiaContraElBloqueo pic.twitter.com/YHG0SkB6OZ
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) February 13, 2020
Currently, the economic, financial, and commercial sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump administration have prevented Venezuela from accessing international markets and, as a consequence, the Venezuelan people’s rights to health, food, and development have been systematically violated and impeded.
“We have the right, the obligation, and the responsibility to protect our people,”
Arreaza said at a press conference held after handing over the documentation of the case to the Hague court.
“The consequences of U.S. coercive unilateral measures are crimes against humanity and violate both international laws and the United Nations Charter.”
During his presentation, Areazza stressed that the U.S. unilateral coercive measures tactics are “weapons of mass destruction” that affect various peoples of the world and thus, the actions that Venezuela is now taking before the Criminal Court will set a precedent for international law and multilateral institutions.