The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: File photo.
The Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, said that the Colombian government of President Gustavo Petro is planning to withdraw the lawsuit against President Nicolás Maduro before the International Criminal Court, presented by former Colombian President Iván Duque.
“I believe that yes, what Duque did was a mistake in foreign relations,” Ambassador Benedetti commented to Bloomberg when asked about the issue.
In 2017, Iván Duque, then a member of the Colombian Senate, presented a formal complaint at the Hague, against alleged “crimes against humanity” committed by the government of Venezuela headed by President Maduro. In addition to Duque, Chilean extreme right politician Felipe Kast as well as over 80 parliamentarians of Colombia and Chile participated in that complaint.
One year later, in September 2018, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that the then governments of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Canada had requested to open an investigation against the government of President Maduro for alleged crimes against humanity committed against the people of Venezuela since 2014. These “crimes” referred to the government’s actions in the context of violent protests, called guarimbas, staged by the Venezuelan far-right in 2014.
Colombian Ambassador Benedetti has now remarked that the new government of Colombia, headed by President Petro, may withdraw itself from that complaint.
Regarding the unilateral coercive measures maintained by the United States against Venezuela, Benedetti stated that the Colombian government is willing to advocate for the lifting of the sanctions.
“We are going to advocate [for the lifting of sanctions],” said the ambassador. “We have already done so in the CAN and we are also talking with the CAF [Development Bank of Latin America], looking for solutions.”
He added that Petro would not stick to “obeying or accepting the influence of US presidents, as other Colombian presidents have done.”
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Benedetti explained that he has told the economic counselors of the US embassy “that any process has to go hand in hand with them [Venezuelan authorities]. I have a meeting with the US ambassador to Venezuela to discuss these issues.”
It should be noted here that there is no US ambassador to Venezuela recognized by the Venezuelan government. The so-called US ambassador to Venezuela is James Story, who holds office in Bogota, capital of Colombia, and is recognized by former deputy Juan Guaidó whose “interim presidency” has been falling apart in recent months.
Earlier this week the Colombian ambassador held several meetings with President Maduro, his cabinet members, and the Venezuelan National Assembly. He described all those meetings as “fruitful.”
The new government of Colombia is advancing in reestablishment of full diplomatic and binational relations with Venezuela.
(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/AF
