Court in Argentina orders Maduro's arrest for crimes against humanity

Courts in Argentina and Venezuela issued warrants for the arrests of each other's presidents on Monday amid a showdown between leaders Javier Milei and Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela was first off the mark with its warrant for Argentina's Milei over what it called the "theft" of a Venezuelan plane seized in Buenos Aires for alleged sanctions violations.

A court in Caracas also issued warrants for Argentina's Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Karina Milei, the President's sister and presidential chief-of-staff.

In a tit-for-tat measure hours later, a Federal Court of Buenos Aires ordered the arrest of Venezuela's Maduro and dozens of aides for crimes against humanity.

Significantly, the court also asked international police organisation Interpol to issue a red notice for their capture, local media reported.

The federal court in Buenos Aires accused Venezuela's leaders of organising the kidnap and torture of Venezuelan citizens, the reports added.

"It was proven that there exists in Venezuela a systematic plan of repression, forced disappearance of people, torture, homicides and persecution against a portion of the civilian population, developed – at least – from 2014 to the present," read an excerpt of the ruling seen by local news agencies.

The court invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute certain serious crimes regardless of where they took place.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello is among those sought, as well as 30 officials and members of the intelligence and security forces.

"The arrest warrants, for extradition purposes, will serve so that all those nations that for ideological or economic reasons still maintain ambivalent positions on what is happening in Venezuela, can no longer ignore the serious crimes against humanity that the government headed by Nicolás Maduro Moros perpetrates systematically to generate terror in the civilian population and thus perpetuate itself in power," said lawyer Tomás Farini Duggan, one of the minds behind the legal complaint.

Polar opposites

Venezuela has repeatedly locked horns with Argentina, where Milei, a vocal critic of Maduro-style socialism, took office last December.

Argentina was among dozens of countries not to recognise Maduro's claim of reelection victory in a July 28 vote which the opposition said it can prove he stole.

Argentina – whose Embassy in Caracas is sheltering Venezuelan opposition officials – was among seven Latin American countries with which Caracas severed ties after the election.

The arrest warrant issued by Venezuela for Milei relates to a cargo plane owned by Venezuelan company Emtrasur, which was seized after landing in Argentina in June 2022, before Milei took office.

A judge in Argentina then granted a request for the United States to seize the plane on grounds that laws were broken when Iran sold it to Venezuela. Both countries are under US sanctions.

Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice on Monday accused Milei of aggravated robbery, unlawful detention and "unlawful interference with the operational safety of civil aviation."

The arrest warrant was seen as largely symbolic, however, as it is unlikely Milei will set foot in Venezuela, which is the only country where the warrant applies.

Maduro's regime has lashed out repeatedly over the past week at its critics, notably accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez's handpicked successor.

– TIMES/AFP