The stolen EMTRASUR plane. Photo: OT Archive.
The airplane belonging to the Venezuelan firm EMTRASUR, affiliated with Conviasa, which was illegally detained at the Ezeiza International Airport in June 2022 was moved from the maintenance runway after an Argentine court ratified the confiscation of the aircraft following a US request.
The transfer took place one day after the inauguration of far-right president Javier Milei in the South American nation.
The Boeing 747-300 was detained in Argentina in June 2022 at the request of Washington, which alleged that its sales process was “illegal” because, according to a United States (US) judge, it violated the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US government against Iran and Venezuela.
However, the detention of the plane was carried out in Argentina’s territory, so the United States had no jurisdiction to determine any violation of its punitive and illegal sanctions; as a result, the aircraft should have been immediately returned to Venezuela.
Within the framework of this illegal procedure, 19 crew members were also detained onboard the Boeing 747-300 in Argentina, a violation of law that Venezuela reported to the international aeronautical community due to the risk involved in revoking the aircraft’s overflight permit, which could have caused tragedy, human loss, and material damage.
The captives were released months later, but the plane remained in Argentina’s possession. In May of this year, the Argentinian justice system rejected the appeal presented by the company EMTRASUR and permitted the seizure of the Venezuelan plane. The Federal Chamber of La Plata argued that the annulment proposal regarding the hijacking of the aircraft requested by the Venezuelan lawyers became “abstract.”
Federal judge Federico Villena, who was in charge of the case, confirmed on that occasion that the plane was already at the disposal of the US justice system for confiscation. It is expected that the aircraft will fly to the US shortly.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro criticized both the Argentinian and US justice systems for this blatant violation of international law and diplomatic integrity. “There is no respect for the sovereignty of countries,” he said.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
