Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 6, 2026, calling on Brussels to activate the EU’s Blocking Statute to shield the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations from U.S. sanctions.
“Sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human-rights system at risk,” Sánchez posted on X. “The EU cannot stand idly by in the face of this persecution.”
The request also covers UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, whom the Trump administration sanctioned in July 2025, claiming her criticism of Israel helped prompt the ICC investigation.
The European Parliament passed resolutions calling for activation in July and September 2025, but the Commission, which holds the authority to trigger the mechanism, took no action and offered no public explanation for the delay.
The Netherlands, as the host country of the ICC, has agreed to advocate for activation of the EU Blocking Statute at the European level, with Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel stating that “the Netherlands is too small” to shield its banks alone.
Six judges, representing roughly one-third of the court’s bench, along with the three most senior officials in the Office of the Prosecutor, have already been sanctioned.
The EU’s Blocking Statute is a legal mechanism that prohibits European individuals and companies from complying with foreign sanctions deemed to have extraterritorial reach. Originally enacted in 1996 to counter U.S. sanctions on Cuba, Iran, and Libya, it was updated in 2018 after Washington reimposed sanctions on Iran following its withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
If activated, the statute would prohibit European banks, service providers, and institutions from treating officials of the ICC as sanctioned persons under U.S. law.
One targeted judge, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, told reporters that the sanctions barred her from using credit cards, accessing dollar-based banking services, and using Western Union. She also said her daughter was denied a U.S. visa without explanation.
The dispute over the ICC is one front in a broader confrontation between Madrid and Washington. Spain denied the United States permission to use jointly operated military bases during operations against Iran, prompting President Donald Trump to threaten a suspension of trade with Spain.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also called on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel, arguing that governments violating international law should not benefit from privileged EU partnerships.
The sanctions trace back to February 6, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14203, imposing asset freezes and visa bans on officials of the ICC involved in investigations of U.S. citizens or allies. The order immediately designated ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan for sanctions.
The executive order declared the ICC an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the U.S.,” citing the court’s November 2024 arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Gaza. Trump signed the order during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later sanctioned four additional ICC judges in June 2025 and two more in December. In August, Rubio described the ICC as a “bankrupt institution” and “a national-security threat.” By May 2026, 11 ICC officials had been sanctioned by the Trump administration.
In December 2025, Middle East Eye reported that the Trump administration had privately conditioned the removal of sanctions on the ICC dropping its Palestine and Afghanistan investigations. According to the report, Washington also urged members of the Rome Statute to amend the treaty to prohibit prosecutions of nationals from non-signatory states, a move that would effectively grant blanket immunity to American and Israeli nationals.
The executive order defined “protected persons” as U.S. nationals, U.S. military personnel, and citizens or lawful residents of NATO allies or major non-NATO allies, a category that includes Israel, the Philippines, and 17 other countries. Under the order, any foreign person who assists the ICC in investigating a protected person without that country’s consent can be subjected to U.S. sanctions.
The legal foundation for the U.S. position predates President Trump. The American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA) was enacted in 2002 and is often referred to as the “Hague Invasion Act.” The law prohibits federal, state, and local governments from cooperating with the International Criminal Court and bars the transfer of classified intelligence to the court.
It also restricts U.S. participation in UN peacekeeping operations unless American troops are granted immunity. In addition, the law authorizes the president to use “all means necessary and appropriate” to free any U.S. or allied personnel detained by or on behalf of the ICC. That provision gave the law its nickname.
Trump’s 2025 executive order explicitly cited ASPA as its statutory basis.
The U.S. position against the ICC stretches back even further. At the 1998 Rome conference, the U.S. voted against adoption of the Rome Statute, joining only six other countries in opposition.
Yet U.S. law draws a precise distinction. The ASPA explicitly preserves the right to assist in the capture of foreign nationals wanted by the ICC.
The State Department’s Global Criminal Justice Rewards Program currently offers up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and transfer of Joseph Kony, who has been wanted since 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda, and Ahmad Harun, who is wanted for atrocities in Darfur. Congress expanded the program in 2013 to cover any international tribunal, including the ICC.
In the case of Kony, the U.S. deployed Special Forces to assist Ugandan authorities in the manhunt. Former President Joe Biden also welcomed the ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and publicly supported efforts to arrest him.
This is President Trump’s second use of sanctions against the ICC. In 2020, his administration sanctioned then-ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda after she sought authorization for an Afghanistan investigation that included potential cases involving U.S. personnel.
Those sanctions were challenged in two federal lawsuits and later lifted by former President Joe Biden. Trump’s 2025 executive order is broader in scope, targeting a wider range of ICC officials, their family members, and any foreign person who materially assists investigations covered by the sanctions regime.
In response, 79 member states of the ICC issued a joint statement backing the court and condemning the sanctions. However, since the ICC has no authority over U.S. persons and President Trump hates the court, he is unlikely to be moved by the court’s joint statement.
The post Donald Trump vs. the International Criminal Court appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.