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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has responded to calls to exclude the U.S. and its athletes from the upcoming Winter Olympics over the country’s recent military intervention in Venezuela.
The committee ruled out any penalty on the U.S. in the aftermath of the intervention.
“As a global organization, the IOC has to manage a complex reality. The IOC has to deal with the current political context and the latest developments in the world,” the IOC said in a statement to the BBC.
“The ability to bring athletes together, no matter where they come from, is fundamental to the future of values-based, truly global sport, which can give hope to the world.
“For this reason, the IOC cannot involve itself directly in political matters or conflicts between countries, as these fall outside our remit. This is the realm of politics.”
Russian athletes are banned from competing in the Olympics since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022. Russian invaded Ukraine just four days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February of that year, which is a violation of the Olympic Truce clause in the IOC charter. Russia also put Ukrainian athletes there under the control of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The U.S.’s strike on Venezuela violated no such charter and has been praised by many in the international community due to the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro and the toppling of his regime.
The effort came after months of pressure on Venezuela as the Trump administration conducted more than 20 strikes in Latin American waters targeting alleged drug traffickers as part of Trump’s broader initiative to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S.
UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES
The IOC faced similar calls to exclude Israel from the Olympics over the Gaza war, but those requests were also declined as the committee stated that the country’s national Olympic committee had complied with the Olympic Charter.
However, Indonesia may face a penalty for violating the Olympic Charter, even if it doesn’t result in the exclusion of the country’s athletes from competition.
The IOC previously condemned the country for its denial of visas to Israeli athletes and declared it a breach of the international charter. All conversation about Indonesia hosting a future Olympics was terminated, and the IOC advised global organizers not to schedule any major events in the country.
The Indonesian government cited safety concerns for its decision to deny the Israel team visas, warning of potential threats within its country to the safety of the Israeli athletes and risk the safety of others.
However, Team Israel claimed its own country’s security detail determined the country was safe to enter and cleared its athletes to travel there.
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“We received authorization from the Israeli Security Authorities to participate in the World Championship subject to the necessary security protocols in place. From our side, all preparations were complete — registration process, entry visas to Indonesia and Israeli Security Authorities confirmation,” the Israel Gymnastics Federation previously told Fox News Digital.
Indonesia was previously stripped of its right to host the under-20 World Cup when the governor of Bali refused to host Team Israel in a game.
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