Argentine court may offer Venezuelans a route to justice

An Argentine federal court ordered judges to continue investigations into alleged crimes against humanity by members of Venezuela's National Guard under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, and it rejected an appeal seeking dismissal of the case.

An Argentine federal court on Thursday ordered the judiciary to press on with investigations into alleged crimes against humanity by members of Venezuela's National Guard. The judges applied the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which allows courts to investigate international crimes regardless of where they occurred. The ruling came as Venezuelan authorities released some detainees, a development that rights advocates described as welcome but not a substitute for judicial processes. Argentina has received complaints from Venezuelan victims and began investigating these allegations in 2023. Key developments: - A federal appeals court rejected an appeal by a former National Guard officer who had sought to dismiss the case and void an outstanding arrest warrant. - Judges instructed Argentina to pursue the investigation under universal jurisdiction. - The criminal complaint names 14 National Guard officers and centers on abuses during 2014 anti-government protests; former detainees and relatives provided testimony in Buenos Aires. - Argentina is one of the countries that permits extraterritorial investigation of crimes against humanity and has a history of prosecuting past abuses from its own dictatorship era. - A separate case filed in Argentina targets Nicolás Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials and included an extradition request after Maduro's capture. Summary: The ruling keeps criminal investigations active in Argentina and reinforces the use of universal jurisdiction for alleged Venezuelan abuses. Specific next procedural moves were not detailed. Undetermined at this time.