Venezuela has particularly vehemently demanded that Argentina return the company’s Emtrasur plane, which has been held in Buenos Aires since June 8, along with 19 crew members, including five Iranians. Diplomatic tensions escalated when President Nicolás Maduro on Monday warned his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernández that he was “hot”. [molesto] for the theft of the plane in Argentina”. This Tuesday, employees of Venezuelan airlines marched to parliament under the motto “Give the plane back”. Inside the building, in a frantic session, the Chavismo accused Argentina’s judicial system of being under the yoke of the United States.
“The plane and our hijacked brothers will be returned to us!” said National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez during a session that adopted an agreement refuting “the US government’s perverse intent to seize the hijacked plane.” ‘ in Argentina. “Don’t let them come to us with lies, it was a vulgar kidnapping. We want back our compatriots who are being held in Argentina without any excuse,” he said.
The Boeing 747 Dreamliner, Venezuelan registration YV3531, is parked at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. It is owned by Venezuelan public company Emtrasur and was recently acquired by Iranian airline Mahan Air. Both companies are sanctioned by Washington on charges of providing logistics services to terrorist groups.
The Argentine judiciary is waiting for reports from the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Aruba and the Dominican Republic. The judge responsible for the investigation, Federico Villena, wants to determine whether the destination of some crew members differs from that communicated in the itinerary. The plane was carrying car parts for a multinational and the cargo was delivered, but a complaint from the Argentine Israeli Associations’ (DAIA) delegation caught sight of the five Iranians on board. His presence worried the South American country’s Jewish community, which asked for clarification on whether they had ties to some of the suspects in the 1994 attack that destroyed AMIA headquarters in Buenos Aires and left 85 dead.
Rodríguez, one of Chavismo’s heavyweights, called the Argentine prosecutor handling the case a “thief” and went even further by conditioning a return to negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition, which has been pushed and almost stalled by the international community are advised a year. what happens to the detained planes. “We will not move on issues of dialogue or negotiation or any of that. Very simple, just like we said with the kidnapped diplomat Álex Saab.” He also announced that they will mobilize this Wednesday to protest against the Argentine embassy in Caracas. “Don’t let go of the demons because if anyone knows the street, it’s Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution,” he warned. Argentina’s foreign ministry sources said they will not respond to the Maduro government’s allegations as they believe they are facing a judicial matter.
Maduro on Monday took a hard line against President Fernandez, whom he considered an ally until recently. The Venezuelan fanned the flames of Argentina’s domestic politics and asked for the support of the Peronist movements that make up the executive branch. “We will not allow the plane to be stolen! We are very horny about the plane theft in Argentina; Enough abuses; Enough is enough!” he said. Diosdado Cabello, who is considered the number two of Chavismo, also sued the Argentine president. “We don’t want this plane in five years, we want it now because this plane is from Venezuela.”
The Boeing 747-300 of the Venezuelan company Emtrasur photographed on June 12, 2022 at Cordoba Airport, Argentina SEBASTIAN BORSERO (AFP)
Last Monday, the Argentine judge returned the passports of 12 crew members – one Iranian and the rest of Venezuelans – but kept those of the other seven – four Iranians and three Venezuelans. Those who have received the passport can leave the country. In a 260-page ruling released by state news agency Telam, Villena said he wanted to know whether “under the guise or ‘curtain’ of legitimate activity, any part of the crew (…) would fund terrorist operations (particularly with the… Hezbollah)” or “part of a plan related to this terrorist organization”. The judge relies on the law that countries “must take preventive measures to quell the preparation for an act of terrorism, the first step in doing so being financing”.
This is an extremely sensitive issue in Argentina, a country where two terrorist attacks on the Jewish community took place: Two years before the AMIA bombing, a car bomb destroyed the Israeli embassy building in Buenos Aires, killing 22 people. A recent report by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency details how Hezbollah prepared both attacks from the territory, with people specially dispatched to Argentina by the terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, the judge is waiting for the information requested from third countries. He wants to know from Uruguay why he prevented the Emtrasur flight from landing when he had already approved the route; Venezuela was asked for data on the arrival and departure of passengers on the various routes before landing in Buenos Aires; I am asking Aruba and the Dominican Republic for details on the plane’s passage through their territories. So far he has only received one reply from the United States. The FBI ordered a document “regarding the connection of Iranian citizen Gholamreza Ghasemi (pilot of the Embratur plane) to the designated terrorist groups, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Forces (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah,” the judge wrote of his guilt.
The United States government has been the most active in this matter. A Colombian court ordered Argentina to seize the plane for allegedly violating export laws. The Boeing 747 is of American origin and its transfer from the Iranian company Mahan Air to the Venezuelan Emtrasur involves two companies that Washington considers to be logistics providers for terrorist organizations.