Venezuela: Nicolas Madiro Meets With ICC Prosecutor Investigating His Human Rights Abuses

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan is in Caracas and actually met with the man he is investigating for human rights abuses, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who is known for his brutal crackdowns against the opposition or any dissidents in the South American country.

Nicolas Maduro and his leftist Bolivarian regime are currently under investigation by the UN tribunal over his alleged crimes against humanity as he and his allies tried to repress any opposition against his power or dissent from the citizenry.

According to ABC News, this is already ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan's fourth visit to Venezuela regarding his crimes against humanity investigation against Nicolas Maduro. His latest visit there came almost two months after an appeals panel ruled that his investigation regarding Maduro's human rights abuses could move forward. The investigation was heavily objected to by the Venezuelan government but lauded by Maduro's opponents.

The ICC prosecutor noted that even with the independent investigation continuing, the ICC could supply technical assistance to Venezuelan authorities for the country to receive "meaningful justice."

"I think there is unity on a central truth: that the dark cloud of suspicion or allegations will not lift without the gentle breeze or winds of credible investigations," he said after a meeting with Venezuelan authorities, including the country's chief prosecutor.

US Supports ICC Investigation on Venezuela Human Rights Abuses Even If It Is Not Part of It

Meanwhile, the United States has notedly been very supportive of the case by Khan against Venezuela, even though it is not a party to the International Criminal Court, according to the Associated Press.

The US previously withdrew its signature from the ICC back in May 2002. It does have a working relationship with the international body and often acts like an observer for various cases.

The case itself was brought by several countries in the Americas, including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. They accuse Maduro of being responsible for various human rights abuses, including "arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence committed by security forces deployed to quell protests in 2017."

Previously, the panel of appeals court judges ruled that while Venezuela did investigate reported human rights abuses in the country to some extent, the Maduro regime only took on low-level perpetrators and not the ones in the upper echelons of the Maduro regime.

Venezuela Intensified Human Rights Abuses This Year as Elections Approached, Says Rights Group

Human rights advocacy group Amnesty International has been sounding the alarm on the human rights abuses in Venezuela for years, and they have noted that Nicolas Maduro has only intensified his campaign against the opposition and other dissidents.

"In Venezuela, Maduro's government has started the year with an alarming intensification of the policy of repression that it uses to try to curtail civic space, critical voices, and political opposition," said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, in a statement on the group's website.

"The international community needs to know that these are not new or isolated events. They're part of a state policy against anyone who might be considered a threat to the current government's continued grip on power. These events could be included in the investigation into crimes against humanity being conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court." she added.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: ICC investigates crimes against humanity in Venezuela - Al Jazeera English