Venezuela left the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Tuesday, a body President Nicolas Maduro decried as "a tool for U.S. geopolitical interests and for persecuting progressive goverments."

The human rights court is affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS), a body other leftist-led nations in the region, including Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, have been critics of, Al Jazeera notes. 

Venezuela's decision to leave the body was originally made by Hugo Chavez last year, and on Monday Maduro said that it was the "best decision" that Chavez could have made.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Elías Jaua said the country wouldn't rethink the decision unless the body undergoes a transformation, and called the court "Arms of the empire to attack Venezuela."