The Maduro government’s response to the arrest warrant issued by the Argentine justice system
The Venezuelan government repudiated this Tuesday the arrest warrant issued on Monday by the Argentine justice system against Nicolás Maduro for alleged crimes against humanity, a decision that the Chavista executive described as “irritating” and “ridiculous.”
According to an official statement, Venezuela “repudiates the invalid decision of a body of the discredited Argentine Judiciary” against the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, which it considers a “crude retaliation reaction instructed” by the Argentine president, Javier Milei.
The arrest warrant against Maduro and Cabello was announced after the Venezuelan justice system ordered the “preventive” detention of the Argentine president, the country’s general secretary, Karina Milei, and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, for “aggravated robbery” and six other crimes related to the Venezuelan-Iranian plane that was detained in Buenos Aires and sent to the United States in February.
According to the Venezuelan government, the Argentine court’s decision “lacks grounds for jurisdiction and violates the jurisdiction of States and the immunities and privileges enjoyed by presidents and high-ranking officials.”
“This ridiculous decision seeks to support the progressive destruction of the international rule of law, attempting to take over the powers of multilateral organizations, diminishing their role, seriously affecting the entire international system,” Caracas said.
The decision of the Argentine justice system was adopted by the Federal Chamber of the City of Buenos Aires in a case opened at the beginning of 2023, due to a complaint against Maduro filed by the Argentine Forum for the Defense of Democracy (FADD)based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute serious human rights crimes regardless of where they were committed.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab on Tuesday described the decision as “stupid” and also considered it “revenge.”
He also announced that he had requested a “red alert” from Interpol against Milei and the two Argentine officials, also for the crimes of “money laundering, simulation of punishable acts, unlawful deprivation of liberty, unlawful interference in the operational safety of civil aviation, disabling of aircraft and association.”
Argentine justice has taken a crucial step against impunity, sending a clear message to dictators: the world becomes small for those who commit atrocious crimes. From the @FADDemocracywe celebrate this progress, the result of the complaint we filed in January 2023,… pic.twitter.com/4LKjIY2u5J
— Elisa Trotta (@EliTrotta) September 24, 2024
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