Over recent weeks, Washington has been putting the screws to Venezuela in an effort to halt its efforts to assist U.S. whistle-blowing fugative Edward Snowden. Offering a detailed look at these threats and what drives them, ABC reporter Emili J. Blasco writes that one of the things Washington fears most is that Snowden might obtain temporary asylum and take refuge at the Venezuela Embassy – or travel to eastern Russia, and catch a flight that completely avoids U.S. airspace or the airspace of its NATO allies.
For Spain’s ABC, Washington correspondent Emili J. Blasco writes in part:
According to sources familiar with the conversation, using tough language, [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry pressed [Venezuela Foreign Minister] 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 United States has 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.
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