Despite the military operation in Venezuela, the organization reaffirmed that it won't punish athletes for the political decisions of their governments
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided not to apply sanctions or restrictions to the United States ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, despite the international controversy caused by the recent military intervention in Venezuela that led to the capture of the narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The decision puts a stop to the demands that emerged in different political and social spheres that were calling for measures against the U.S. delegation, in line with sanctions adopted in other recent conflicts. However, the IOC was clear in its position and once again relied on the Olympic Charter.
"The IOC can't become directly involved in political affairs or conflicts between countries, since these fall outside our scope of competence," they stated. In that regard, they emphasized that its central role is to guarantee the participation of athletes, regardless of the geopolitical context of their countries of origin.
Kirsty Coventry, presidente del COI
The body also stressed that any possible sanction for this type of situation would correspond strictly to the political sphere and not to the sporting one. "This falls under the competence of politics. Our role is to ensure that athletes can compete," they insisted from the Committee.
This way, the United States will participate normally and under its flag in the Olympic event that will take place from February 6 to 22, with the presence of more than 90 countries, without additional limitations for its athletes.
The case inevitably revived the comparison with Russia and Belarus, whose athletes can only compete under a neutral flag and without an anthem after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In addition, the teams of both countries remain excluded from team sports, such as ice hockey, at the request of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, which demands that total sanctions be maintained due to the damage suffered by sports facilities during the war.
Nevertheless, the IOC drew a key distinction and refused to apply an automatic criterion. It considers that the same circumstances are not present and keeps that each situation must be analyzed independently, without the decisions already made constituting a mandatory precedent.
Para el COI, la situación de Rusia y Ucrania es distinta a la de EE.UU. con Venezuela
With this resolution, the governing body of Olympism once again reaffirmed one of its historical principles: the separation between sports and politics, at least with regard to the individual participation of athletes, and avoided opening a front of political conflict just a few weeks before the start of the Games.
