Venezuela Warns of ICC Exit Amid “Imperialist Interference”

By Staff, Agencies

Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said his country is considering withdrawing from the International Criminal Court [ICC], denouncing the institution's “subservience” to imperialist agendas.

Speaking at the People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace of Our America, Rodriguez warned that any foreign military aggression would be met with force.

“Should any aggression dare to enter the sacred territory of Venezuela, we must defend it with our lives,” he declared, stressing national unity behind President Nicolas Maduro, even beyond the revolutionary camp.

Rodriguez denounced what he called a “brutal aggression” from the United States, including the deployment of 22% of the US Navy’s forces to the Caribbean under the pretext of anti-drug operations.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil added that US President Donald Trump had threatened to bomb Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, calling the rhetoric part of a wider strategy to impose imperialist hegemony in Latin America.

“But we have already triumphed over empires,” Gil stated, citing the Venezuelan people’s resistance, mobilization, and deep love for their land.

He described US actions as a “psychological war” waged through economic, media, and military means, but stressed that global solidarity with Venezuela is growing.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez warned that Venezuela and the broader Latin American region remain on alert, saying the goal of US imperialism is to regain control over the region’s resources using both military and economic pressure.

“Imperialism seeks to subjugate the peoples of the region once again,” Padrino said.

Earlier, Interior Minister and senior PSUV leader Diosdado Cabello said that the Bolivarian Revolution faces a daily, unarmed confrontation against constant American threats and pressures.

“What’s happening in Venezuela is a true people’s victory,” Cabello asserted.

Rodriguez also highlighted the humanitarian impact of the 962 unilateral US sanctions, which he said have devastated Venezuela’s economy, slashed income by 99%, and disrupted food and medicine supplies.

He singled out the US seizure of CITGO assets, which previously funded complex surgeries for children through the Simon Bolivar program. He accused former opposition figure Juan Guaido of misappropriating these funds to purchase “mansions,” calling his self-declared presidency a “Narnia government.”

Rodriguez reaffirmed Venezuela's identity as a nation of peace, citing President Maduro’s initiative to establish a National Council for Peace. However, he stressed that this is not a submissive peace, “This is not the peace of the subservient or enslaved, but of free men and women and sovereign peoples.”

The People’s Assembly for Peace and Sovereignty opened Dec. 9 in Caracas, bringing global delegations together to strengthen South–South solidarity.