Venezuela confirms Snowden asylum request

 
 

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. NSA leaker Edward Snowden claims the spy agency gathers all communications into and out of the U.S. for analysis, despite government claims that it only targets foreign traffic.
This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. NSA leaker Edward Snowden claims the spy agency gathers all communications into and out of the U.S. for analysis, despite government claims that it only targets foreign traffic.
The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras / AP Photo

Similar stories:

The Associated Press

Venezuela's president says that his country has received an asylum request from NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

President Nicolas Maduro had already offered asylum to Snowden, who apparently is holed up in the transit lounge of a Moscow airport. Bolivia and Nicaragua also say they'll grant asylum. Ecuador says it will consider any request.

Maduro says it is perhaps the world's "first collective humanitarian asylum" with various countries saying "Come here!"

But the United States has cancelled Snowden's passport and it's unclear if he has travel documents he would need to leave Moscow.

Maduro says Snowden "will have to decide when he flies here, if he finally wants to travel here."

He made the comments late Monday in a meeting with Panama's president. The remarks were distributed Tuesday by his office.

Read more Venezuela Wires stories from the Miami Herald

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category