Good Question: Why Does Snowden Seek Ecuador?
Good Question: Why Does Snowden Seek Ecuador?
AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini explains why President Rafael Correa may have been a factor in Snowden's decision to seek asylum in Ecuador.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Russian president Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the man who leaked secret documents about a U.S. surveillance program is holed up inside the Moscow airport. On Sunday, Edward Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Russia – a country that has no extradition agreement with the U.S.
Now, he’s trying to get to Ecuador. That has a lot of you wondering: Why is Snowden asking the government of Ecuador to take him in?
According to Christopher Sabatini, the senior director for policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas, it stems from Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador.
“He really is someone who’s very flamboyant, very arrogant actually on the personal level — I know him,” Sabatini said.
Correa received his Ph.D in Economics from the University of Illinois in 2001, but Sabatini said his father was indicted for drug trafficking by the U.S.
“It’s really about striking a blow, in his view, against imperialism,” Sababtini said....
“There’s no strategic reason to do it,” he said. “In fact, doing it would actually bring him more grief than it would be worth.”
He believes it would jeopardize U.S. assistance, visas and end a trade agreement that allows for tariff-free goods between Ecuador and the U.S. He said countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela would think twice about granting asylum to Snowden.
“It’s not a welcome task, I think there would be a price to pay,” Sabatini said. “As much as it would bring glory among the anti-globalization crowd, I don’t think it would ultimately benefit any country were they to decide to do it....”
