The Hague court prosecutor revealed that she had “made significant progress” in her investigation into Maduro’s regime

“For the situation in Venezuela, I have always indicated that we are now examining the situation and that most of the criteria for opening a preliminary investigation have been met,” said the prosecutor of the Criminal Court. international (ICC) Fatou. Bensouda in interview with France 24.

The prosecutor He assured that he had “made significant progress in the situation in Venezuela” and that he hopes to make his conclusions public soon. Although he did not give a date, he explained that once the Chamber is rendered on the allegations of the Maduro regime, which accuses him of not cooperating and denying him his right to defense, he will be able to “be able to make public the conclusions of their investigations”.

Last December, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda determined in her annual report that indeed “there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela.

“The Office of the Prosecutor has concluded that the information available at this stage provides a reasonable basis to believe that, At least since April 2017, civilian authorities, members of the armed forces and pro-government individuals have committed crimes against humanity by incarceration or other serious deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental standards of international law ” , indicates the document.

In a statement, the international body listed the security forces of the Maduro regime whose members are believed to be responsible for the crimes: “: the Bolivarian national police; (“PNB”), the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (“SEBIN”), the General Directorate; military counter-espionage (“DGCIM”), the Special Action Force (“FAES”), the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations Corps (“CICPC”), the Bolivarian National Guard (“GNB”), the National Anti-Extortion and Abduction Command (“CONAS”) and certain other units of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (“FANB”) ”.

The report also refers to the paramilitary militias in the service of the dictatorship, known as “colectivos”, and indicates that they acted “with members of the security forces or with their consent”. “With regard to the alleged role of the aforementioned actors”, the potential case (s) identified by the Office of the Prosecutor would not be limited to these persons or groups of persons and an attempt would be made to examine the alleged responsibility of those appearing. be primarily responsible for these crimes ”.

Political persecution is also mentioned in the prosecutor’s report, which stated that “the information available indicates that pro-government individuals have also participated in the representation of opponents of the Venezuelan government, or persons perceived to be acting. mainly with members of the security forces or with their consent ”.

The report from the prosecutor’s office has gone to the preliminary questions room where it will be decided whether there will be a trial or whether the case will be closed.

Now, Bensouda revealed, he hopes “to be able to make all the findings about Venezuela public.”

Anyway, Bensouda’s term ends on June 15, so it’s unclear whether he will rule on Maduro’s regime or let his successor, Britain’s Karim Khan, carry on with the work.

The NGO Provea denounced last week that the Chavist dictatorship was waging a “campaign of attacks” against the ICC, days after the High Court decided whether or not to open a formal investigation into crimes against humanity in the country. “The Venezuelan regime is trying to position a matrix of opinion. Early prevention of damage in the event of an unfavorable decision? “, The NGO said in a statement.

Provea points out, among the promoters of the “campaign”, the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, who declared in early May that the ICC “uses tweets generated by boots with false claims as a source of information”.

The organization recalls that Saab’s statement contrasts with that made in December 2020, when, After a visit to the organization’s headquarters in The Hague, he assured that “Venezuela has always expressed its gratitude and support for the International Criminal Court.”.

Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez also disqualified the ICC’s work, saying the Venezuela case was a “big farce based on lies and lies posted on social media.”

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