South American Nations Furious Over Diversion of Bolivian President's Plane [View all]

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Here is a summary of events so far:

A major diplomatic incident has occured after a jet carrying the president of Bolivia was rerouted to Austria. Various European countries prevented the plane from overflying their airspace, amidst suspicions NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was onboard.
Austrian foreign ministry officials subsequently said Snowden was not onboard. Morales, along with the Bolivian defence minister, remain at Vienna international airport.

The defence minister has said that France, Portugal, Italy and Spain had prevented the jet from entering their airspace. The airspace ban is still being enforced by Spanish authorities. He blamed the decisions on pressure from the US government.

A number of South American states have voiced outrage at the incident, and, according to Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner, the Peruvian president Ollanta Humala has called a meeting of the Union of South American Nations to discuss the ongoing events.

The Bolivian vice president, Alvaro Garcia, said Morales had been "kidnapped by imperialiam".

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/03/edward-snowden-asylum-live

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Wow. L'affaire Snowden is opening up huge divisions, and not just on Democratic Underground.

This insult has the potential to hasten the decline of US influence in Latin America and to chill relations between the region and some of the European powers. I'll be disappointed if Bolivia doesn't respond by telling a few European ambassadors in La Paz to taken an extended vaction back home.

And isn't it a bit hypocritical of the Europeans to squeal about the NSA spying on them, then turn around and behave like lapdogs of the US, fucking with a sovereign head of state on the basis of rumor?