There used to be a time when the countries of Central and South America were safe havens for escaping Nazi's such as Adolf Eichmann, and Otto Skorzeny (the Great Nazi War Hero) for example, set up a secret organization named Die
Spinne which helped as many as 600 former SS men escape from Germany to Spain, Argentina, Paraguay,
Chile, Bolivia, and other countries.
Communists such as Trotsky, would also use Central and South American countries as 'safe havens' .... he famously was killed by Stalin's assassins in Mexico City.
The other group that found safe havens in Central and South American countries, were the US and Italian Mafia such as Lucky Luciano, who used these countries as bases of operations when the US or Italian authorities were breathing too heavily on the back of their necks .... Cuba was effectively a Mafia state for a period just after the Second World War.
But now a different breed see South America, and Ecuador in particular, as the place of preference for claiming refugee status ...... now its alleged rapists such as Julian Assange or traitors such as Edward Snowden (who has also asked Ecuador for Asylum) who appear to be the main claimants to the dubious honour roll who have used Southern American states to escape justice.
A quick glance at Ecuador shows that this is not the Sweden of South America (which is probably a good thing as far as Mr Assange was concerned) .... in fact its a rather typical country for that region, with a history of corrupt weak civilian regimes, interspersed with a military junta (1972–79), and as recently as 2010 they declared a one-week state of emergency, which put the military in charge of public order and suspended civil liberties. It also has the usual South America habit of exploiting the the indigenous Indians human rights (which amounts to about 25% of the population) .... but, hey, that's par for the course.
So isn't it rather strange that these self styled champions of democratic freedom choose this rather socially backward state as the model 'state' to get to? ..... unless of course its the fact that it has no extradition treaties with most European countries and the US?
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| Adolf Eichmann Lived In Argentina. |
Communists such as Trotsky, would also use Central and South American countries as 'safe havens' .... he famously was killed by Stalin's assassins in Mexico City.
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| Leon Trotsky - Mexico |
The other group that found safe havens in Central and South American countries, were the US and Italian Mafia such as Lucky Luciano, who used these countries as bases of operations when the US or Italian authorities were breathing too heavily on the back of their necks .... Cuba was effectively a Mafia state for a period just after the Second World War.
But now a different breed see South America, and Ecuador in particular, as the place of preference for claiming refugee status ...... now its alleged rapists such as Julian Assange or traitors such as Edward Snowden (who has also asked Ecuador for Asylum) who appear to be the main claimants to the dubious honour roll who have used Southern American states to escape justice.
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| Julian Assange and Edward Snowden - Both Claiming Asylum Ecuador |
A quick glance at Ecuador shows that this is not the Sweden of South America (which is probably a good thing as far as Mr Assange was concerned) .... in fact its a rather typical country for that region, with a history of corrupt weak civilian regimes, interspersed with a military junta (1972–79), and as recently as 2010 they declared a one-week state of emergency, which put the military in charge of public order and suspended civil liberties. It also has the usual South America habit of exploiting the the indigenous Indians human rights (which amounts to about 25% of the population) .... but, hey, that's par for the course.
So isn't it rather strange that these self styled champions of democratic freedom choose this rather socially backward state as the model 'state' to get to? ..... unless of course its the fact that it has no extradition treaties with most European countries and the US?
Mr Snowden is finding it harder than he thought to escape the clutches of his former employers.
ReplyDeleteOh, and for those say he didn't commit treason buts justa a whistle blower:
TREASON: Noun
1.The crime of betraying one's country, esp. by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.
2.The action of betraying someone or something.
Synonyms:
treachery - betrayal - perfidy - disloyalty - sellout
Well it seems he's Russia bound .... Putins bear hug will make it clear whose cause he has helped, and its not the USA's.
ReplyDeleteI can't work out what he's hoping to do .... is he hoping for a 'pardon' from the US government? I remember that Iranian man, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in Charles De Gaulle airport for years. There have been other such airport dwellers, but mostly they have been single travellers, while as I understand it Snowden is with his family.
DeleteIt seems he is not too keen on the offers he has had, but is going to have to make up his mind soon, or risk becoming an embarrassment to his Russian 'hosts'.