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International Herald Tribune, France

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Fear of Vladivostok Escape for Snowden Drives U.S. Threats Against Venezuela (ABC, Spain)

 

"The fear in Washington is that Snowden could take advantage of his temporary asylum in Russia to leave the airport in Moscow and find refuge in the Venezuela Embassy in the Russian capital, or travel to another part of Russia from which his flight to Caracas would be much more feasible. If Snowden left from Vladivostok, a Russian city on the Pacific coast, he could make just one stopover in Nicaragua, therefore avoiding having to overfly other countries."

 

By Emili J. Blasco

                              

 

Translated By Rachael Bradley

 

July 23, 2013

 

Spain - ABC - Original Article (Spanish)

Bolivia President Evo Morales after his plane, outbound from Russia, was forced to land in Vienna. A number of countries refused to allow it to fly through their air space when suspicions arouse that Edward Snowden might be on board. Now, Secretary of State John Kerry has told Venezuela President Nicolas Madure that if he personally collected Snowden, such events might not be repeated - but that the consequences for Venezuela would be dire.

RUSSIA TODAY, RUSSIA: Amid Snowden dispute, U.S. denies Russian requests to extradite criminals, July 22, 00:02:59 RealVideo

WASHINGTON: The United States has already begun to implement measures to pressure Venezuela to prevent it from sheltering former U.S. intelligence employee Edward Snowden. Last week, Washington proceeded to revoke U.S. entry visas of Venezuelan government officials and businessmen associated with deceased President Hugo Chavez. Furthermore, in a telephone conversation, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry advised Venezuela Foreign Minister Elias Jaua of other measures the U.S. could impose if Venezuelan asylum for Snowden goes ahead, such as the suspension of gasoline and oil derivative sales to the Caribbean country, which are vital to maintain the day-to-day life of the country.

 

Kerry phoned Jaua on July 18, just hours after Snowden issued a public statement announcing that he had accepted the asylum offer from Venezuela, although he alluded to his incapacity at the moment to travel to there. According to sources familiar with the conversation, using tough language, Kerry pressed Jaua about the extreme importance the U.S. places on the matter and warned that any Venezuelan aircraft suspected of carrying Snowden would be prevented from flying over American airspace or the airspace of any NATO country.

 

After the diplomatic crisis generated by the events involving Bolivia President Evo Morales' aircraft, Kerry let it be understood that the same course of events would not be repeated if Snowden traveled on the presidential plane of Nicolas Maduro, but that Maduro would have to collect Snowden personally. "Immunity is not for the plane, but for the president," Kerry said, according to sources.

 

The tone of the conversation was very different to the jovial June meeting that took place between the two politicians at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Guatemala, when it appeared that relations between the two countries were thawing and might move toward an exchange of ambassadors. An open conflict between Washington and Caracas would freeze eventual U.S. recognition of Maduro's election victory.

 

Pressure Methods

 

The U.S. government began revoking the visas for senior Venezuela government officials and businessmen who conduct business with the executive since at least last Thursday, as some began receiving notices from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. The measure, which does not affect short term visas that are most commonly used by Venezuelan tourists, seeks to ensure that businessmen and politicians affected pressure President Maduro to drop his offer to assist the U.S. fugitive.

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The United States has also threatened to stop shipments of gasoline and refined petroleum products to Venezuela. Although the country is a major producer and exporter of petroleum products to the U.S., it requires them to be refined or manufactured elsewhere. Therefore, on a monthly basis, Venezuela buys 500,000 barrels of gasoline from the United States and another half a million barrels of "bunker fuel" destined for power plants. It also requires a further 350,000 barrels of MTBE [Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether], an additive needed to boost the octane of gasoline, which is required for fueling the Venezuela fleet.

 

As further measures that could be taken, our sources also mentioned the realization of indictments against certain pro-Chavez leaders that Washington has been preparing for some time, for involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal behavior. In his conversation with Jaua, Kerry would have mentioned specific names.

 

The fear in Washington is that Snowden could take advantage of his temporary asylum in Russia to leave the airport in Moscow and find refuge in the Venezuela Embassy in the Russian capital, or travel to another part of Russia from which his flight to Caracas would be much more feasible. For example, if Snowden left from Vladivostok, a Russian city on the Pacific coast, he could make just one stopover in Nicaragua, therefore avoiding having to overfly other countries.

 

 

However, such an itinerary would only be possible in Maduro's presidential plane, given that the fleet of aircraft owned by PDVA, the country's state-owned oil company, are smaller (DC Falcon 9000s, similar to the presidential plane of Evo Morales). Only an aircraft with a tank the size of Venezuela's Air Force One, a Boeing 707, could cover such a distance without having to refuel. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the military would be willing to enter into such a direct confrontation with Washington.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:
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Gazeta, Russia: Chapman and Snowden in: 'The Ghost of Sheremetyevo'
Izvestia, Russia: South vs. North: Snowden's Place in History is Assured
Kommersant, Russia: Snowden's Presence May Scuttle Obama's Visit to Russia
Izvestia, Russia: 'Servile Europeans' Inflict Huge Insult on Bolivians
O Globo, Brazil: NSA Targeted Latin American 'Trade Secrets'
O Globo, Brazil: Brazil 'Gravely Concerned' Over Massive NSA Espionage
O Globo, Brazil: Leading Brazilians Condemn U.S. Surveillance Against the Nation
Wiener Zeitung, Austria: Edward Snowden is No Enemy of Our State!
El Nuevo Diario, Nicaragua: 'Imperial Nations' Mock International Law
La Stampa: Europe Will Rue Toppling Obama Over Snowden
Pagina Siete, Bolivia: U.S. Fears, Not Evil, Motivate Desperate Search for Snowden
The Hankyoreh, South Korea: What Hugo Chavez Would Say about U.S. Surveillance
Le Monde, France: French Big Brother is Watching You!
Guardian, U.K.: The NSA's Indiscriminate Mass Spying on Brazilians
Le Monde, France: French Political Class Holds 'Outrage Contest' Over NSA Spying
DNA, France: Espionage ... From Washington, With Love
Liberation, France: The NSA 'Panopticon'
Der Standard, Austria: Mass NSA Surveillance Implies 'Bizarre Presumption of Guilt'
Guardian,U.K.: NSA/GCHQ Metadata Reassurances are 'Breathtakingly Cynical'
Observer, U.K.: U.S. Attempts to Block Edward Snowden 'Bolsters' Case for Asylum
Der Tagesspiegel, Germany: NSA: Merkel Ignores the Nightmare of 'Stasi Squared'
El Nacional, Bolivia: Snowden: South America Must Take Stand Against Old Europe
Der Spiegel: What's All the Fuss About U.S. Spying?
Guardian, U.K.: Britain Blocks Crucial Espionage Talks between U.S. and Europe
Guardian, U.K.: France 'runs vast electronic spying operation using NSA-style Methods'
Guardian, U.K.: Venezuela and Nicaragua offer asylum to Edward Snowden
Elsevier, The Netherlands: Snowden's Revelations are of 'No Benefit to Society'
El Universal, Venezuela: Maduro Uses Snowden Asylum to Distract Venezuelan People
Der Spiegel, Germany: NSA Spying on Germany: How Much Did Angela Merkel Know?
Der Spiegel, Germany Bolivia Irate Over Forced Landing
Der Spiegel, Germany: Germany Rejects Asylum for Snowden
News, Switzerland: Humanity's Cyber-Hypocrisy Overload
El Comercio, Ecuador: Wanting to Keep U.S. Trade Privileges is Not Treason!
Der Spiegel, Germany: Spying 'Out of Control': EU Official Questions Trade Negotiations
Der Spiegel, Germany: Growing Alarm: German Prosecutors To Review Allegations of U.S. Spying
Guardian, U.K.: New NSA Leaks Show how U.S. is Bugging its European Allies
Der Spiegel, Germany: Partner and Target: NSA Snoops on 500 Million German Data Connections
Hoy, Ecuador: Snowden Highlights Ecuador's Decision-Making Paradox
Diario de Noticias, Portugal: America 'Summons World' to Renewed Cold War
Guardian, U.K.: Ecuador Rejects U.S. Trade Pact to Thwart Snowden 'Blackmail'
Guardian, U.K: Glenn Greenwald on Personal Side of Taking on NSA - Personal Smears
Guardian, U.K: How NSA Continues to Harvest Your Online Data
Guardian, U.K: Edward Snowden's Next Step: Live Q&A
Gazeta, Russia: Why Russia, China, and Others, Love 'Poking America in the Eye'
Guardian, U.K.: Snowden Affair Revives Politics of the Cold War
Guardian, U.K.: 'History will be Kind' to Edward Snowden
Guardian, U.K.: Latin America is ready to defy the US over Snowden and other issues
Guardian, U.K.: Putin Confirms Snowden in Moscow Airport; No Extradition
The New York Times, U.S.: China Said to Have Made Call to Let Leaker Depart
People's Daily, China: U.S. Internet Hypocrisy Creates Global Suspicion
Global Times, China: Internet 'Muckraking Frenzy' Damaging China's Global Interests
Huanqiu, China: 'Demented' Hacking Charges Betray U.S. Scheme for Cyber Domination
Guardian, U.K.: Snowden Leaves Hong Kong for Moscow: Seeks Asylum in Ecuador
Financial Times, U.K.: Snowden Fallout Impacts China and Russia
Russia Today, Russia: VIDEO: Former MI5 Agent Judges Snowden 'Canny'
Folha, Brazil: Trust in the State Inadequate as a Pretext for NSA's Spying
Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, France: Edward Snowden is Not the Issue
El Pais, Spain: Powerless, Europe Must Nevertheless Stand Up to NSA Spying Program
Global Times, China: Demonizing China Will Backfire on Americans
Global Times, China: Extraditing Snowden Would Be a Mistake
Xinhua, China: 'Idealistic' Edward Snowden Should be Welcomed by China
Mediapart, France: 'Autonomous Machines': World Reawakens to U.S. Web Dominance
Guardian, U.K.: Britain's GCHQ Intercepted Data from Foreign Politicians at G20 Summits
Le Monde, France: French Lawmakers Scramble Over News of NSA Surveillance
Le Temps, Switzerland: Last Resort for Confronting 'Electronic Big Brother'
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: On Global Spying for Selfish National Interest
Mediapart, France: The NSA is Spying on Us! What a Surprise!
El Espectador, Colombia: Please Consider Yourself Watched!
Le Monde, France: NSA Surveillance Storm Gathers Over Cloud Market
Folha, Brazil: Being 'Carioca' Helped Glenn Greenwald Break NSA Surveillance Story
Sol, Portugal: WikiLeaks and Facebook: What Came Before Will Soon Be Rubble
Guardian, U.K.: World Leaders Seek Answers on NSA Data Collection Programs
Guardian, U.K.: Artist Ai Weiwei: The U.S. is 'Behaving Like China'
Russia Today, Russia: Putin: Government Surveillance 'Should Not Break the Law'
Guardian, U.K.: Russia Offers to Consider Edward Snowden Asylum Request
Handelsblatt, Germany: Obama's Data Nightmare is Europe's
FAZ, Germany: Protect Us from Terrorism ... and Government Snooping
SCMP, Hong Kong: What Will Hong Kong do with Snowden? ... The World is Watching
SCMP, Hong Kong: Why Hong Kong? Chinese Wonder if Edward Snowden is in Wrong Place
Suedostschweiz, Switzerland: Exposed: Spy Powers that Obama Shouldn't Use
Le Temps, Switzerland: Exploring the Limits of Sino-U.S. Compromise
Business Day, South Africa: Obama Sets 'Dubious Example' on Freedom
Economist, U.K.: The Reason We Fear Broad Surveillance
Guardian, U.K.: The NSA's Secret Tool to Track Global Surveillance Data

 

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US July 23, 2013, 3:59am