Voices of protest continue to emerge from Venezuela in response to the decision of the Argentine judiciary to support a request from the United States government to confiscate the Boeing 747-300M of EMTRASUR Cargo that has been stranded at the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires for a year and a half.
The operator of the aircraft (registration YV 3531), Empresa de Transporte Aerocargo del Sur S.A. (EMTRASUR), which is owned by the Venezuelan state, stated that it “rejects and categorically condemns the arbitrary and illegal decision of the federal court of Lomas de Zamora”, asserting that the detention in Argentina of the crew for five months, as well as the seizure of the aircraft, was carried out without any evidence.
See also: EMTRASUR’s 747 detained in Buenos Aires: US Attorney requests immediate execution of seizure
They continue, stating that this, along with the damages to Venezuelan assets, means that “the Argentine government not only violated human rights, but also due process in complying with international regulations, as it is a member state of the ICAO, in relation to its obligations applicable to air navigation under the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the Convention on International Air Services Transit Agreement, which prohibits the seizure of an aircraft in service”.
The Venezuelan airline assures that the decision of the judiciary also “contradicts the rulings of Judge Federico Villena, who concludes that the release of the crew and the aircraft, ordered by the court, demonstrates that there were no sufficiently valid elements of conviction to determine the commission of an illicit act related to espionage and terrorist actions by EMTRASUR”, therefore demonstrating to the Argentine authorities that they complied with all legal permits, the flight plan, the ownership of the aircraft, and the legality of the cargo.
In light of this, they emphasize their right to take legal action for damages to the company’s assets, violation of human rights, and the Convention on International Civil Aviation, urging international aviation authorities to “enforce current legal regulations and not grant authorization for overflight or technical stop” to the Boeing 747-300M (the statement specifies registration YV 3531, model 747-3br, serial 23413, with General Electric CF6-50E2 engines, serials 530450, 530436, 517675, and 530127), warning that those who do so would be “accomplices in the theft of this legitimate property of this Venezuelan air cargo transport company”.
This follows the line expressed by the Venezuelan government last week to consider as “hostile act” the authorization of overflight by other countries to effectuate the confiscation.
