In statements to ‘Euronews’, former Colombian president Andrés Pastrana affirms that in Venezuela there has not been electoral fraud “but a coup d’état” and urges the International Criminal Court to protect “the civilian population” of the country.
The former Colombian president Andres Pastranarepresenting 31 former Ibero-American heads of state and government integrated into the IDEA Groupurged this Friday the International Criminal Court (CPI) to issue a “arrest and arrest warrant” contra Maduro and his chain of command for “crimes against humanity” and practices of “state terrorism” in Venezuela.
Pastrana presented this Friday before the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague a legal report, which he considered to be of “historical value”, in which the group of 31 former presidents denounces what happened around the electoral process of July 28 in Venezuela as practices of “state terrorism“.
“In Venezuela there was no electoral fraud, but a coup d’état“Pastrana said in statements to ‘Euronews’, while clarifying that, with the presentation of the document signed by thirty former leaders of Latin America and Spain, instan a la CPI to fulfill its “preventive function” and to “take appropriate actions” to protect the civilian population in Venezuela”.
These actions, in the opinion of the group, as Pastrana tells ‘Euronews’, involve issuing a “international arrest and arrest warrant“.
The signatories of the document maintain, according to a press release from Grupo Idea, that “crimes against humanity” and the “systematic repression of the Venezuelan people” and opposition leaders are “work of a military structure operational whose chain of command directly exercises Nicolas Maduro Moros, as an active military man and as commander in chief.”
The IDEA Group points to the direct responsibility of Maduro and his leadership
In 2021the ICC Prosecutor’s Office had opened an investigation against Venezuela motivated by complaints of crimes against humanity presented by several Latin American countries and Canada. But, so far, the investigation has focused on Venezuela without directly pointing to any proper name of the leadership of the State.
But Pastrana highlights in statements to ‘Euronews’ that, with the complaint filed in The Hague, they want to draw attention to the direct responsibility of the people involved in what he denounces as a systematic persecution of, among others, journalists, electoral witnesses and politicians.
“Who are directly responsible of crimes against humanity are (the Venezuelan president) Nicolas Maduro(his number two) Diosdado Hair and the line of command of Venezuela,” Andrés Pastrana tells ‘Euronews’.
Concern for María Corina Machado and Edmundo González
Pastrana also expressed concern about the integrity of the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and of presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzálezwhom the IDEA Group and the Venezuelan opposition consider the president-elect based on the minutes of the scrutiny that have been collected.
Meanwhile, the Maduro Government opposes presenting this evidence officially, despite the calls for transparency of the international community. Although, for now, the European Union does not consider either Maduro or González the winner of the presidential elections on July 28and insists on the need for Venezuela to officially publish all the minutes.
The document presented to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office includes the signatures of 31 former heads of State and Government, including former Latin American leaders such as Pastrana himself, the Colombians Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, the Argentine Mauricio Macri or the spanish José María Aznar, Mariano Rajoy and Felipe González.
