Venezuelan group asks international court to investigate President Maduro

A group of Venezuelan opposition figures has asked the international criminal court (ICC) to probe the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and other officials for “crimes against humanity”, exiled dissident Carlos Vecchio said on Wednesday. “Yesterday we formally presented a request for the court to open a preliminary inquiry into high-ranking officials, especially Maduro, because we consider that they have committed crimes against humanity,” Vecchio told reporters in Madrid. The move – confirmed by an ICC source – comes just weeks before 6 December legislative elections in Venezuela, which polls say the opposition may win as people in the oil-rich country suffer runaway inflation and shortages of basic goods. More…