Edward Snowden's plan to seek sanctuary in Ecuador is falling apart
As whistle-blower waits in limbo, Ecuadorean frustration at the 'grandstanding' of ally Julian Assange has put in doubt his quest for asylum
The plan to spirit whistle-blower Edward Snowden to sanctuary in Latin America appears to be falling apart amid tension between Ecuador's government and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
President Rafael Correa halted a bid to help Snowden leave Russia amid concerns Assange was usurping the role of the Ecuadorean government, according to leaked diplomatic correspondence.
He declared invalid a temporary travel document which could have helped extract Snowden from his reported location in Moscow.
Correa declared that the safe conduct pass issued by Ecuador's London consul - in collaboration with Assange - was unauthorised. Other Ecuadorean diplomats privately said the WikiLeaks founder could be perceived as "running the show".
Yesterday Correa said he had spoken with US Vice-President Joe Biden about Snowden, and that Biden had asked Ecuador to reject the fugitive intelligence leaker's asylum request.
Correa said the conversation took place on Friday and that Biden "passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request".