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Arkansas Blue's avatar

When is the international criminal court, along with the UN, going to start investigating the orange felon's and his military's illegal blowing up of boats in international waters, without furnishing proof they were indeed drug smugglers?

I know the US refuses to be a signatory to the ICC, but that should not be an excuse to do nothing at all.

93clementine's avatar

Reminder: no one is coming to save us. Not SCOTUS, not ICC. We are the calvary, so — do something yourself. Contact your state Democratic Party office or your state elections office to see how you can help. At the very least email your senators, congress reps, and governor’s offices to tell them what you think. They work for YOU.

Info on ICC below because people seem to think they somehow are mythical cowboys on white horses: they’re not.

There are very strict criteria and some pretty tall barriers for a case to be brought in the ICC, not least of which is that as you note 1) the US is not a State Party to the Rome Statute. A State Party could refer trump for prosecution but then that State Party or another one would have to catch him, arrest him, and turn him over to ICC authorities.* Just imagine the US reaction — yikes. 2) The Court’s subject matter jurisdiction (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or crime of aggression) have very specific definitions in international law, transgressions of which would need to be supported by evidence.

https://anagnostakis-law-offices.com/individual-access-and-state-participation-in-the-international-criminal-court-a-legal-analysis/

Jurisdictional Prerequisites

Individual cases can only reach the ICC when several conditions are met:

1. The alleged crimes fall within the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or crime of aggression)

2. The crimes occurred after July 1, 2002

3. The crimes occurred either:

In the territory of a State Party

By a national of a State Party

In a state that has accepted ICC jurisdiction

Through UN Security Council referral

*Interesting aside — even if he had wanted to go, putin was not able to attend the pope’s funeral because he has an ICC arrest warrant out for him and Italy is a member of the ICC. The Italians could have arrested him pursuant to the warrant; if he set foot in the country he might have ended up at The Hague. Maybe not, if the Italians decided to not push the issue, but he probably thought it wasn’t worth the risk.

Peter's avatar

Thank you for publishing this. I feel like I've been screaming into the void saying the same thing and I'm glad to see a, let me just say, much more qualified voice saying the same thing out loud here where hopefully it will get a little visibility.

Potter's avatar

Thank you...I was cringing reading that Machedo thought her peace prize belongs to or should be shared with Trump. Not a good idea to give the prize aspirationally due to human nature.

Wendy horgan's avatar

..." tension between hope and hindsight"

Why a beautifully written post. Thank you.

Although Machado's pivot does not come as a complete surprise, it is nontheless deeply saddening.

bitchybitchybitchy's avatar

Look Machado up on Wikipedia. She has oftern expressed right wing, conservative political views. She called Milei's election a triumph.

Venezuela is a mess, but is Machado the answer?

The peace prize committee ought to have learned a lesson after Abiy.

Perhaps thry ought to stop naivety giving awards for "aspirationsl" figures.

Jean Kasl's avatar

Thanks for voicing what I have believed ever since the committee awarded her the prize!

93clementine's avatar

So, trump either threatened her or paid her. More digging is required before judgment passed.

donna woodward's avatar

" Yet, if the Venezuelan campaign expands, Trump’s prospects for viable Nobel consideration would vanish... ."

Heaven help us, I thought that prospect had vanished long ago--if ever it were real. Could the Nobel Peace Committee really be unaware of the hateful, vicious acts of this man who has fabricated his ending of wars and negotiated a ceasefire in Gaza that quickly failed?

TFMeehan's avatar

Is there a Nobel Repo Man?

Ivan Tufaart's avatar

Is it possible to revoke a Nobel? If not, then maybe the committee can change the rules to allow it.

Carol Ann Habich-Traut's avatar

Excellent post, thanks for this, I was unaware of Machado's change towards violence. Just awful.

Patricia VanBuskirk's avatar

Thank you so much for writing this article. I had no idea she is moving in that direction. Please help us all to keep informed about this. I feel overwhelmed (again).

Goran Senjanovic's avatar

Very good point, but recall also that Kissinger got the Nobel peace prize, in spite of having been a war criminal of biblical proportions, responsible for millions killed in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, far lands bombed to death illegally, without the approval of the Congress. I wish, moreover, that the article mentioned a far more important point: she literally loves and supports the genocide of Gaza, and is a great friend with Netanyahu, a war criminal and a fugitive from international law. But then she is not alone - so do many Democrats, most of them bribed by the AIPAC. I am deeply worried, even heartbroken, that this may fall on deaf ears - it seems that the Contrarian can live in peace with crimes against humanity. How one can feel no solidarity and no empathy for countless victims, for a land destroyed, is beyond my comprehension, though.

Susan Iwanisziw's avatar

I appreciate an analysis of this egregious “gift” to Trump. I was stunned by it when I saw a brief mention a few days ago.