ECUADOR SAYS SNOWDEN SEEKING ASYLUM THERE
Earlier today,
Life imitates the Cohen brothers (video NSFW), and Putin may have channeled J. K. Simmons:
WIRE: SNOWDEN LEAVES FOR VENEZUELA VIA RUSSIA, CUBA
Reuters says
Itar-Tass cited its source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
Other reports name Ecuador and Iceland,
Separately, the South China Morning Post, the city’s leading English-language newspaper, said that Mr. Snowden had boarded a 10:55 a.m. flight on Sunday headed to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. The paper said that Moscow wasn’t his final destination, citing Ecuador and Iceland as possible destinations.
For now, it’s all a “where’s Waldo?” moment.
UPDATE,
#Russia's Interfax news agency reports Venezuelan diplomat picked Snowden up in a car on tarmac at Moscow airport. Whisked him away #NSA
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) June 23, 2013
Interfax: Snowden overnights at Venezuelan embassy. Diplomatic car from plane to embassy. Formally never steps in #Russia, so no visa needed
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) June 23, 2013
If Snowden is, in fact, on his way to Venezuela, Wikileaks has a very strange notion of a “democratic country.” Freedom House, in their 2013 report on “Freedom in the World,” lists Venezuela as “partly free,” which may be a generous designation given that the internal security apparatus is run by Cubans and that “Chavista” bully boys routinely show up at opposition rallies to threaten and intimidate opponents. Snowden, who claimed he wanted to end up in a country with democratic values, could have made a better choice.