Evo Morales grounding incident explained

On 1 July 2013, president Evo Morales of Bolivia, who had been attending a conference of gas-exporting countries in Russia, gave an interview to the RT television network in which he appeared predisposed to offer asylum to Edward Snowden.[1] The day after his TV interview, Morales's Dassault Falcon 900 FAB-001, carrying him back to La Paz from Moscow, took off from Vnukovo Airport, flew uninterrupted over Poland and the Czech Republic, but then unexpectedly landed in Vienna, Austria.

According to Bolivia, the flight was rerouted to Austria when France, Spain and Italy[2] denied access to their airspace, allegedly due to suspicions that Snowden was on board.

Forced landing

According to Austrian statements, the pilots requested emergency landing due to issues with fuel level indicators causing inability to confirm there was sufficient fuel to continue flight.[3] Austria's deputy chancellor, Michael Spindelegger, said that the plane was searched, although the Bolivian Defense Minister denied a search took place, saying Morales had denied entry to his plane.[4] [5] The refusals for entry into French, Spanish, and Italian airspace ostensibly for "technical reasons", strongly denounced by Bolivia, Ecuador, and other South American nations, were attributed to rumors disseminated by the US that Snowden was on board.[6] [7] Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José García-Margallo, publicly stated that they were told he was on board but did not specify as to who had informed them.[8]

The President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, later clarified that an airport officer did board the aircraft to find out why it had landed in Vienna reporting technical problems, but "there was no formal inspection".[9] The following morning, President Fischer went to greet President Morales in his plane and shared breakfast with him.[10]

Fourteen hours later, after officials worked to resolve the dispute, the aircraft took off again for the Canary Islands passing over France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.[11] [12]

Aftermath

France apologized for the incident immediately.[13] The Spanish ambassador to Bolivia apologized two weeks later, citing inappropriate procedures.[14] The Italians and Portuguese sent official explanations to the Bolivian Government.[15]

On 3 July, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, acknowledged that the U.S. had 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".[16] [17]

On 20 September, President Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed. U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilateral talks with the People's Republic of China.[18]

In the aftermath of the incident, seven Latin American countries – Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela – voiced their concerns to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who stated that "a Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".[19] Ban also emphasized that it is important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

Julian Assange's statement

In April 2015, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claimed to having deliberately leaked the false information about Snowden being on the plane to the U.S. as part of several "special measures" to distract secret services. In response, the Bolivian ambassador to Russia demanded that Assange apologize for putting their president's life at risk. Interviewed in August 2015 by the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, Assange stated that Wikileaks and the government of Venezuela discussed smuggling Snowden out of Russia aboard the presidential plane of either Venezuela or Bolivia. Assange did not know whether or not the Bolivian government was aware of these negotiations, and did not himself communicate with the Bolivians, but said that Venezuela should have warned Bolivia.[20] He also stated that he regretted what happened but that "[w]e can’t predict that other countries engage in some ... unprecedented criminal operation".[21]

Assange said the grounding of Morales's plane "reveals the true nature of the relationship between Western Europe and the United States" as "a phone call from U.S. intelligence was enough to close the airspace to a booked presidential flight, which has immunity".[22] [23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Evo Morales se abre a ceder asilo a Edward Snowden si lo solicita . El Mercurio On-Line . El Mercurio On-Line . Spanish . 2013-07-01 . 2014-03-16 . 2013-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130706035213/http://www.emol.com/noticias/internacional/2013/07/01/606824/evo-morales-se-abre-a-ceder-asilo-a-edward-snowden-si-lo-solicita.html . live .
  2. Web site: Portas: Portugal autorizou o sobrevoo de Morales . Sol-Autor Lusa . Sol . Portuguese . 2013-07-09 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140327080337/http://sol.sapo.pt/inicio/Politica/Interior.aspx?content_id=79361 . dead .
  3. News: Evo Morales's controversial flight over Europe, minute by heavily disputed minute. en-US. Washington Post. 2021-05-24. 0190-8286.
  4. News: Evo Morales's controversial flight over Europe, minute by heavily disputed minute . Max Fisher . The Washington Post . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-01-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140105181843/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/03/evo-morales-controversial-flight-over-europe-minute-by-heavily-disputed-minute/ . dead .
  5. Web site: Snowden still in Moscow despite Bolivian plane drama . Angelika Gruber . Emma Farge . Reuters . 2013-07-02 . 2014-03-16 . 2019-02-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190220222651/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-snowden/snowden-still-in-moscow-despite-bolivian-plane-drama-idUSBRE9610C520130703 . "Austrian Deputy Chancellor Michael Spindelegger said Morales personally denied that Snowden was aboard his jet and agreed to a voluntary inspection. "Based on this invitation from Bolivia, a colleague boarded the plane, looked at everything and there was no one else on board," Spindelegger told reporters. But Bolivian Defence Minister Ruben Saavedra said Morales's plane was not searched because Morales had refused Austrian authorities entry." . live .
  6. Web site: Bolivian leader's plane rerouted on Snowden fear . Philipp-Moritz Jenne . Carlos Valdez . The Big Story . Associated Press . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-03-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140313225351/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bolivian-leaders-plane-rerouted-snowden-fear . dead .
  7. Web site: Bolivia: Presidential plane forced to land after Snowden rumors . Catherine E. Shoichet . Cable News Network . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140327080708/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/02/world/americas/bolivia-presidential-plane . dead .
  8. Web site: Spain 'told Edward Snowden was on Bolivia president's plane' . British Broadcasting Corporation . British Broadcasting Corporation . 2013-07-05 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-04-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140410063311/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-23201767 . dead .
  9. News: . Reuters. 2013-07-07. Austria did not search Morales jet in Vienna: president. en. Reuters. 2021-05-25.
  10. Web site: Thomson. Iain. 2016-09-12. Edward Snowden's 40 days in a Russian airport – by the woman who helped him escape. 2021-05-24. The Register. en.
  11. News: Here's a map showing the very strange flight path of Bolivian President Evo Morales. en-US. Washington Post. 2021-05-25. 0190-8286.
  12. Web site: Bolivia complains to UN after Evo Morales' plane 'kidnapped' . Sara Shahriari . Jonathan Watts . Dan Roberts . The Guardian . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-04-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140406222541/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/03/bolivia-un-evo-morales-plane . dead .
  13. Web site: France apologises to Bolivia over jet row . Al Jazeera . Al Jazeera . 2013-07-04 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140223221949/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/07/2013747914179924.html . dead .
  14. Web site: Spain apologizes to Bolivia for presidential plane delay . Daniel Ramos . Caroline Stauffer . Paul Simao . Reuters . 2013-07-15 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140327080345/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/16/us-usa-security-snowden-latinamerica-idUSBRE96F06020130716 . live .
  15. Web site: Caso Snowden-Morales, le "note esplicative" di Italia e Portogallo. Atlas. 19 December 2014. 19 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141219100742/http://atlasweb.it/2013/07/18/caso-snowden-morales-le-note-esplicative-di-italia-e-portogallo-579.html. dead.
  16. Web site: Daily Press Briefing - July 3, 2013 . Jen Psaki . state.gov . US Department of State . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 .
  17. Web site: US admits contact with other countries over potential Snowden flights – as it happened . Oliver Laughland . Helen Davidson . Haroon Siddique . Paul Owen . The Guardian . 2013-07-03 . 2014-03-16 . 2014-03-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140312014003/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/03/edward-snowden-asylum-live . dead .
  18. Web site: Bolivian President to sue U.S. Government for Crimes against Humanity . Huffington Post . Huffington Post . Video 2:25 Min . 2013-09-20 . 2014-03-16.
  19. Web site: Latin American nations voice concerns to Ban over rerouting of Bolivian leader's plane . United Nations . United Nations . 2013-07-09 . 2014-03-16 . 2013-12-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131208035752/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45374&Cr=Latin+America&Cr1=#.UhN673-_S28 . dead .
  20. Web site: Julian Assange: Wikileaks negoció con Maduro para que Snowden viaje con Evo. . El Deber . 2015-08-30 . 2017-11-14 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20150902010740/http://www.eldeber.com.bo/especiales/julian-assange-wikileaks-estudio-maduro.html . 2015-09-02 .
  21. Web site: Julian Assange WikiLeaks Update: Edward Snowden Rumor Put Bolivian President's Life In Danger, Bolivia Claims. Cristina. Silva. International Business Times. 14 April 2015. 8 April 2019.
  22. Web site: Assange on the Untold Story of the Grounding of Evo Morales' Plane During Edward Snowden Manhunt . Democracy Now! . 10 September 2020 . en . 28 May 2015. In 2013, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks played a pivotal role in helping National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden leave Hong Kong for Russia. During the U.S. hunt for Snowden, Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane was forced to land in Austria for 14 hours after Spain, France, Portugal and Italy closed their airspace under pressure from the United States over false rumors Snowden was on board..
  23. Web site: Bolivia: Presidential plane forced to land after false rumors of Snowden onboard. Catherine E. Shoichet . 2 July 2013. CNN.

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