During this past week, 5 countries in South America and Canada have urged the International Criminal Court to consider prosecuting senior officials in Venezuela. The reasoning behind this is the extensive abuse of human rights that is being performed by these officials and it is unjust. This is the first time that member nations have referred a member to the court in history.
I feel that this is a big step that needs to be taking towards the unjust actions of President Maduro and his partnering officials. The treatment of Venezuelans has declined since his election and will not stop until something is done about it. There is an unspoken rule between the Latin American countries that they have adhered by for decades which is to stay out of the messy internal affairs of each’s neighboring countries, but with how badly Venezuela’s economy is unraveling it is becoming a regional threat.
Since 2015 over 1.6 Venezuelans have left the country and 1.8 million are predicted to leave this year alone. Peru has taken in over 450,000 of the migrants in this mass exodus and President Martin Vizcarra stated that,” it demands collective action by the international community”. I feel that this is a perfect statement and that with these numbers that are already presented and the fact that they are continuing to grow is a fine visual that something needs to be done in Venezuela.
President Trump has described the happenings in Venezuela as a “human tragedy” in the latest United Nations General Assembly. But in this same meeting, he lashed out on the court claiming they have “no legitimacy or authority”.
In the end of all this, the State Department stated,”The crisis in Venezuela will only be resolved through the restoration of democratic governance, realistic economic policies, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms”. My point of view on this statement is that this is indeed the only way to resolve the crisis occurring in the country. Their government and economy is on a consistent decline and a new leader needs to step in and help the country earn the trust of its people back and help the country back into an incline to repair the damages done by President Maduro.