FLIGHT DETOURED
U.S. may have hoped to nab leaker
U.S. won’t comment on claims that Bolivian president’s plane was blocked in an effort to see if NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board.
The apparent diversion of the Bolivian president’s airplane in Europe has fed suspicion that the United States is quietly orchestrating an international manhunt for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden despite efforts by President Barack Obama to downplay the magnitude of that pursuit.
The circumstances surrounding the unscheduled landing of Bolivian President Evo Morales’ aircraft in Vienna remained murky on Wednesday, with U.S. officials refusing to comment on Bolivian claims that the flight was blocked as part of an effort to ascertain whether Snowden was on board.
At the same time, U. S. officials made clear the administration has held talks with governments that might be in position to prevent Snowden from eluding U.S. capture.
“We have been in contact with a range of countries across the world who had any chance of having Mr. Snowden land or even transit through their countries, but I’m not going to outline when those were or what those countries have been,” State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said on Wednesday.
Bolivian authorities accused the United States of forcing Morales’ plane to land in Austria by putting pressure on American allies including France and Portugal, and possibly Spain and Italy, to refuse to allow the Bolivian leader’s plane to enter their airspace.
Before departing Moscow, Morales had suggested his country would be willing to consider granting Snowden asylum, a remark that triggered speculation that the leftist Bolivian president might head home with the former NSA contractor in tow
Morales was allowed to resume his return to La Paz on Wednesday, but his forced overnight stay in Vienna ended amid escalating protests from Bolivian officials.
They were joined by leaders across a range of leftist countries in Latin America who characterized the redirection of Morales’ presidential plane as an affront that put his life in jeopardy and underscored vestiges of European colonialism and racism toward Latin America.
“What has happened is EXTREMELY grave,” Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, wrote via Twitter. “Latin America demands reactions and explanations.”
The European governments have so far not acknowledged blocking Morales’ path at the behest of the United States.
But their opaque statements, and a search of the aircraft by Austrian authorities, suggests that at least some U. S. allies in Europe have been persuaded to assist in the pursuit of Snowden even while expressing anger over revelations that their citizens and officials have been swept up in the surveillance programs that Snowden exposed.
Snowden, who has been charged with stealing and disclosing classified materials, is believed to still be in Moscow.
The highly unusual detour of a head of state’s flight came just days after Obama seemed to signal that the United States would avoid extraordinary measures beyond seeking Snowden’s extradition.
“I’m not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year- old hacker,” Obama said last week.