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Venezuela slams President Maduro arrest warrant by Argentine court

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Sep 2024 11:41
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Venezuela's Foreign Minister says the decision violates the "immunities and privileges of presidents and high officials."

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Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil during a press conference in Caracas in 2024 (AFP)

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil declared that the Venezuelan government considers the "invalid decision" of the Argentine court's arrest warrant for President Nicolas Maduro as a violation of state sovereignty and an act of retaliation by Argentine President Javier Milei.

"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela repudiates the invalid decision of a body of the discredited Argentine judiciary against President Nicolas Maduro Moros and the Minister of People's Power for the Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello Rondon, which is nothing more than a brutal retaliatory reaction instructed by Mr. Javier Milei … This decision … violates the jurisdiction of states and the immunities and privileges of presidents and high officials," Gil said in a Telegram post on Tuesday.

In February, Maduro slammed his Argentine counterpart three days after the United States fulfilled the seizure of a Venezuelan plane held in Buenos Aires since June 2022. An Argentinian court earlier this year ordered the that the Emtrasur plane be handed over to the United States, after which it was flown to Florida.

Shortly after, Caracas issued an arrest warrant against Argentinian President Javier Milei, the head of the presidential secretariat Karina Milei, and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, accusing them of being involved in the Emtrasur plane seizure.

In a televised statement, President Maduro said, referencing his counterpart, "They stole our plane... Milei the bandit stole the plane from Venezuela. Javier Milei, the hero of the extreme right," adding, "He acts crazy or he is crazy or both at the same time."

Argentina requested earlier this month that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue an arrest warrant for Maduro. On Tuesday, an Argentine court has issued an arrest warrant for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for alleged "crimes against humanity", the Todo Noticias broadcaster reported.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) website detailed last week that the American-manufactured jumbo jet was delivered to the US on February 11 by Argentina's government, which had held the aircraft in 2022.

Venezuela's government branded the jet seizure as "blatant theft" and an act of "collusion" between the US and Argentina that violates civil aeronautics norms, as well as Emtrasur's "commercial, civil, and political rights."