This statement was published by the NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JVE-Vzla) on December 1, 2025, on its X account, @JEPvzla. Due to its relevance for understanding the current status of Venezuela I situation (crimes against humanity) and its impact within the framework of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, it is reproduced by AlertaVenezuela.
The decision announced by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to close its technical assistance office in Venezuela is a highly significant event for the defense of human rights and for international scrutiny of the country’s serious justice crisis. This closure does not represent a setback in the investigation of crimes against humanity; on the contrary, it further confirms the Venezuelan State’s unwillingness to assume the minimum commitments necessary to overcome the structural impunity that prevails in the country.
When the ICC Prosecutor formally initiated the investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding that included, among other points, the establishment of a technical office in Venezuelan territory. Its objective was to support and advise the State in adopting essential reforms to strengthen the justice system and allow it to move toward genuine, independent, and effective proceedings against those who had participated in serious human rights violations.
Civil society has repeatedly warned that these objectives would be difficult to achieve. The Venezuelan state not only faces severe institutional deficiencies, but many of its highest authorities are implicated as participants in or directly responsible for the events under investigation. Expecting these same institutions to promote genuine reforms to guarantee truth, justice, and reparations was, from the outset, incompatible with the country’s reality.
After years of recommendations from the Prosecutor’s Office and commitments formally made but systematically broken by the state, the closure of the technical office confirms what human rights organizations have persistently denounced: Venezuelan authorities lack the political will to advance the reinstitutionalization of the justice system, nor are they willing to comply with international standards of independence, impartiality, and accountability. This decision exposes, once again, the state’s repeated failure to comply with international obligations and the persistence of a pattern of impunity incompatible with international law.
It is crucial to remember that this office never had the authority to investigate or prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity. Its mandate was strictly one of technical cooperation. The formal investigation has remained, since its inception, in the hands of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office, which now reaffirms that only through its intervention can any real progress be guaranteed, given the absence of effective internal mechanisms.
The closure of this office sends a clear and forceful message to the international community: in Venezuela, there is no adequate institutional environment to carry out genuine investigations into crimes against humanity. It also reaffirms that the ICC’s investigation and actions continue because there is no other body capable of delivering justice to the victims.
Human rights organizations will continue to stand with the victims by documenting violations and demanding that the duty to investigate, punish, and provide reparations be fulfilled. Today, more than ever, it is essential to redouble efforts to ensure that international justice mechanisms remain active and robust, guaranteeing that the truth prevails and that those responsible for the most serious crimes face the consequences demanded by international law.