[ad_1]
Federal Judge Federico Villena in Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, granted a U.S. request to seize the Emtrasure large plane that entered Argentina on June 6.
The ruling means the approval of the US blockade of the aircraft within the framework of a mutual legal assistance treaty between the two countries.
The decision came after prosecutor Cecilia Incardona backed a request by the U.S. Justice Department, which claimed to have hijacked and subsequently seized the plane.
Washington’s definition of Argentina’s justice comes amid a harsh interrogation of Argentina by Venezuelan government officials. As with the extradition, in addition to a judicial settlement, a new chapter in the plane’s history will be opened: Casa Rosada will have the final say.
Although the details of the resolution are confidential, sources in the case assured Pezina/12 that the plane would be seized in a joint settlement between local and Colombian courts, as required by the treaty with the United States. The magistrate will decide whether the requirements of the treaty signed in time between the two countries are met, for which he accepted the confiscation request.
A Venezuelan-flagged aircraft may be confiscated for violating its export control rules, the U.S. Department of Justice determined under a July 19 judicial order issued by a court in the District of Columbia. These rules establish the U.S. Department of Commerce’s authority to impose restrictions and create barriers to all unauthorized activities. In this case, the plane was originally built on U.S. soil, then sold to Air France and later to Iran’s Mahan Air. Since 2008, the Iranian company has been banned from its export-related transactions by the U.S. government for alleged ties to terrorist groups. Inside this blockade is the plane currently residing in Buenos Aires, which was purchased by the Venezuelan state company Conavisa.
According to Law No. 24,034 of 1991, Argentina and the United States have signed a mutual assistance treaty, which in effect means cooperation between the two countries in judicial matters. Against this backdrop, the U.S. government asked Argentina to order the effective seizure of the plane. The Argentine government accepted the request and sent it to the judiciary. According to sources in the document, the government could have delayed the judicial request or not sent it, but it did so because assurances were one of the reasons Venezuela criticized the executive branch.
The crime the U.S. calls re-exports, or violations of laws that do not exist under Argentine rules, that judges can follow, are protected by treaties.
However, the resolution does not affect the procedural status of the aircraft crew within the framework of the case investigating whether the crew “has committed any conduct”, who are still awaiting the definition of Argentine justice. Or have ties to terrorist groups, or if they fly to our country for some criminal purpose,” according to the prosecution.
On Wednesday, Venezuelan National Assembly President Pedro Carreo demanded that the Argentine government return the plane and release the crew, saying the investigation was nothing more than a “false positive.” These criticisms prompted the Attorney General of the State (PGN) to issue an interim note to Argentina’s foreign ministry, headed by Eduardo Cassel, expressing its “deep institutional concerns”. The text was signed by Juan Manuel Olima Espel, Head of the PGN Agency Coordination Secretariat, and sent to Pablo Tetmanti, Secretary of Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[ad_2]
Source link