Justice accepted a North American request to hand over the Boeing 747, confiscated at Ezeiza airport since 2022
The Argentine Court decided to hand over to the United States Court a Venezuelan plane that had been detained in the country since June 2022. Federal judge Federico Villena granted a request from the District of Columbia. The case is under judicial secrecy. The information is from Clarin.
The case involves Venezuelan, Argentine, North American and Iranian authorities. There were 19 crew members on board the plane, including 5 Iranian citizens, who had their passports withheld at the time, and 14 Venezuelans. They were the subject of several accusations, such as violating sanctions and being linked to terrorist attacks.
In response, the Venezuelan government criticized the “servile decision” of Argentine Justice and said it was a “theft” of the plane. The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a note on the matter. Here's the complete (PDF – 47 kB).
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects and condemns the decision, clearly serving imperial interests, taken by Argentine federal judge Federico Villena, who attempts to steal the Venezuelan aircraft,” states.
THE CASE
The Boeing 747 arrived in Argentina on June 6, 2022, from Mexico, and landed in Córdoba. Then, he went to Buenos Aires. The plane has been detained at Ezeiza International Airport, just over 30 km from the Argentine capital, since June 8. On that date, he tried to fly to Uruguay, but was prevented from landing and returned to Ezeiza.
According to the Clarin, the plane was registered by Caracas-based airline Emtrasur on January 23. Emtrasur is a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Conviasawhich is on the US Treasury sanctions list.
Previously, for 15 years, the aircraft belonged to the Iranian company Mahan Air. The United States considers the Iranian company to be part of a terrorist organization.
Also according to the Clarinthe plane's pilot, Gholamreza Ghasemi, is being investigated by Argentine justice for possible links with the Quds Force, Tehran's Revolutionary Guard, listed as terrorist by US authorities.
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