International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, said on Wednesday he will open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela.

Speaking in a conference alongside Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Khan said he is "determined that he will proceed to open an investigation to establish the truth" of events that occurred in Venezuela. A  memorandum of understanding was signed by both the President and Karim Khan. 

A preliminary investigation was conducted in 2018 and Khan noted during the press conference that "The preliminary examination that opened in 2018 is nothing more than a filtering stage as we move into this new stage".

The ICC has been conducting a preliminary examination into the country since 2018 and has said there may be reason to believe officials in Maduro's government have committed crimes against humanity. However, the government have expressed that they do not share the same opinion regarding the progression of the investigation.

The government notes that they do not think the situation in the country "justifies the movement from the preliminary examination phase to an investigation phase". Despite this, the government has been cooperative. 

President Maduro further went on to say "we respect his decision as a state, though we have made clear we do not share it". He added that "We have signed an agreement that does guarantee, in an effective way, cooperation, positive complementarity, mutual support, constructive dialogue to seek truth and justice."

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