JFK Detention Angers Venezuelan Official

[dogday]

NEW YORK -- Venezuela's foreign minister said he was illegally detained for 90 minutes by officials at a New York airport and accused them of treating him abusively by trying to frisk and handcuff him.

U.S. officials called Saturday's incident regrettable and said they had apologized to Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Maduro called that insufficient and said Venezuela would seek a legal challenge through the U.N. to what he called a "flagrant violation of international law" and his diplomatic immunity.

We were detained for an hour and a half, threatened by police with being beaten," Maduro told reporters at Venezuela's mission to the U.N. "We hold the U.S. government responsible."

A U.N. diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said Maduro's trip was delayed because he had showed up late without a ticket, prompting extra screening.


http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-venezuela-us,0,6186205.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines



Was This Political Payback?

[JohnnyRingo]

1. I bet it was some renegade airport security

and one thing led to another.
Just the kind of job a gung-ho freep would let go to his head.

I'm guessing so because of the profuse official appologies that followed.

[dogday]

2. Yes, because this administration

doesn't deal in "Payback" right? :sarcasm:

[JohnnyRingo]

3. I wasn't trying to be adversarial about it

I remember when they shook down Ted Kennedy at KBOS, so there's a chance the diplomat was the target of a childish payback by the White House, but I figured if the screeners were following orders from above the admin would have instead claimed something along the line of "he was just the 17th passenger in line, so he was subjected to increased scrutiny".

Instead the overboard appologies hint that maybe some lower level "patriot" thought he'd take things into his own hands, perhaps in hopes of a guest spot on Hannity's radio show or something.

This White House isn't known for their appologies, regardless how petty.

[dogday]

5. I was not either nt

[Truthiness Inspector]

4. He showed up late and without a ticket

The sky is falling.

[1932]

6. Which makes it OK?

[malaise]

7. That's bullspit

Which Foreign Minister buys a one way ticket to a UN meeting? Further he had a diplomatic passport which he 'must' have presented at 'check in'. The was planned and is a violation of international law. I hope the Venezuelans search some of those 'Diplomatic bags' in retaliation.