Bolivia's Morales arrives home after delay due to Snowden affair
President blasts European countries for refusing to let his plane use their airspace
Bolivian President Evo Morales called the rerouting of his plane over suspicions that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was aboard a provocation to Latin America and urged European countries to “free themselves” from the United States.
His presidential plane arrived home in Bolivia’s capital late on Wednesday night following an unplanned 14-hour layover in Vienna. His government said France, Spain and Portugal all refused to let it through their airspace, forcing it to land in Austria. He had been flying home from a summit in Russia.
Bolivian government officials have repeatedly said they believe that Washington was behind the incident.
“It is an open provocation to the continent, not only to the president; they use the agent of North American imperialism to scare us and intimidate us,” Morales said to about 100 supporters gathered at the La Paz airport to greet him.
It is an open provocation to the continent. They use the agent of North American imperialism to scare us and intimidate us
Morales, a leftist, has long been a fierce critic of US policy toward Latin America and had suggested while in Russia that he was be willing to consider giving Snowden asylum in Bolivia.