Argentine Judge Orders The Theft of Venezuela’s EMTRASUR Plane at US Request

The federal judge of Lomas de Zamora, Federico Villena, has made official the theft of the Venezuelan EMTRASUR aircraft at the request of the United States.

Villena’s ruling implies an acceptance of the US blockade on Venezuela with regards to the Venezuelan aircraft, within the framework of an Argentina-US mutual legal assistance treaty signed more than 30 years ago, reports Argentine news outlet Página 12.

Villena also order the aircraft to be searched for the third time, but this time with the joint participation of the Airport Security Police (PSA) of Buenos Aires and agents of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in order to draw up an inventory at the request of the judge in the original case, Washington DC federal judge Michael Harvey.

Acá la decisión del tribunal de #Argentina donde se oficializa el robo del avión de #ENTRASUR textualmente dice “se ordena el secuestró de avión Boing 747-300” y se autoriza al servicio de Alguaciles de EEUU a coordinar la custodia del avión. Solicita pruebas de los tripulantes pic.twitter.com/qse1k9zXEt

— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) August 12, 2022

However, Judge Villena’s ruling does not mean that the US government can seize the Venezuelan aircraft. Although the judiciary is autonomous in Argentina, the president of the country has the power to have the last word in this case. Hence, the final decision rests with President Alberto Fernández.

Moreover, Villena’s ruling does not affect the procedural situation of the crew members of the plane, who are still awaiting a ruling from the Argentine courts regarding whether they can leave Argentina and return to their countries. It is being investigated if any member of the crew “was linked to some type of terrorist activity or group or whether they flew over and landed in Argentina with some criminal purpose,” according to Federal Attorney Cecilia Incardona who is in charge of the case.

Since early June, the Boeing 747, belonging to the Venezuelan state cargo airline EMTRASUR, has been detained in Argentina. No investigation has been able to show any sort of crime in which the crew or the aircraft could have been involved. Venezuelan authorities, Argentine workers’ unions and various human rights organizations have condemned the case as “political persecution.”

The set-up that keeps the Venezuelan plane hijacked in Argentina comprises a judge who is being investigated for corruption, the US-imposed unilateral coercive measures on Venezuela, and the lack of interest on the part of President Fernández, who has commented only once on this case, saying that he has found “no evidence” against the crew members or the aircraft.

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/AF