Venezuelan president offers Snowden asylum
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) attends the 202nd anniversary of Venezuela's independence, Caracas, July 5, 2013.
“As head of state, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young American Edward Snowden so that he can live (without)… persecution from the [American] empire,” Maduro said on Friday.
The 50-year-old socialist leader made the offer during a speech commemorating the anniversary of the Bolivarian Republic’s independence.
Venezuela declared independence from Spain on July 5, 1811.
Minutes before Maduro’s offer, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega also said his country would grant Snowden political asylum “if circumstances permit” it.
Snowden, a former CIA employee, has been holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport since June 23, when he traveled from Hong Kong to avoid extradition to the US.
He has already sought asylum in 20 countries, namely China, India, Cuba, Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, France, Germany and Iceland.
Washington has asked these countries not to provide asylum to Snowden.
The US has revoked Snowden’s passport, with State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki saying the whistleblower “should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the US.”
Snowden revealed two top secret US government spying programs, under which the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been spying on a global scale.
The NSA scandal took even broader dimensions when Snowden revealed information about US espionage activities targeting countries friendly to the US.