Five Iranians and a dozen Venezuelans were on the Venezuelan plane seized by Argentina; everyone awaits a definition of the diplomatic conflict in a hotel in the town of Ezeiza. The plane was transporting auto parts for an automotive company
The Argentine government has immobilized a Venezuelan cargo plane that belonged to an Iranian company and is sanctioned by the United States. as confirmed InfobaeAt least five Iranians and a dozen Venezuelans were on the aircraft. “Their passport was withheld, they can only leave the country on a regular flight,” said a source from the Airport Security Police (PSA).
This scandal occurs precisely when President Nicolás Maduro is visiting Iran, together with a delegation of several ministers, where he signed a strategic cooperation agreement for 20 years, which provides for collaboration in the areas of oil, petrochemicals, tourism, food and technology.
The plane is a Boeing 747-3B3(M) of the Emtrasur company, transferred at the beginning of this year to the Venezuelan state company Conviasa, and landed on Monday, June 6, at the Córdoba airport due to the fog that was in Buenos Aires, but then he arrived in Ezeiza, where they were waiting for him with intelligence information that had been provided by various international agencies. The PSA, Customs, Immigration and the PFA quickly intervened in a joint operation. “She was transporting auto parts for an automotive company, the cargo was checked several times, but nothing strange was found and she was released,” said a senior PSA source.
At least five Iranians were traveling on the plane, some of them with alleged links to the Quds Forces, a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps specializing in military intelligence operations; so the authorities decided to withhold their passports while the situation with the plane is defined.
Among the crew there were also a dozen Venezuelans. The Argentine authorities showed surprise, since they assure that it is more than twice as many people as necessary.
Until the night of Friday, June 10, all the members of the crew were waiting for a definition of the diplomatic conflict in a hotel in the town of Ezeiza.
On Wednesday afternoon, the plane tried to travel to Uruguay to load fuel to return to Venezuela, but the government of that country decided to close the airspace and prevented the maneuver. For that reason, he returned to Ezeiza.
«They came from Mexico, they had an agreement with a broker to load fuel but they dropped it on the way. At that time, neither YPF nor Shell are going to load fuel,” a source familiar with the operation explained to Infobae.
Until very recently, the aircraft belonged to the Iranian company Mahan Air, sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. For this reason, several international agencies have been following the route of the plane. “Fifteen days ago he was in Paraguay and allegedly took a load of cigarettes to Aruba,” said an official who monitored the operation.
According to the US Treasury, Mahan Air provided travel services to Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel flying to and from Iran and Syria for military training. He also accused the airline of facilitating the covert travel of suspected Islamic militia officers in and out of Iraq.
“Mahan Air’s Close Coordination With The IRGC-QF, Which Secretly Transports Operatives, Weapons And Funds On Its Flights, Reveals Another Facet Of The Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Extensive Infiltration Of Iran’s Business Sector To Facilitate Its Support Of Terrorism” Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen said at the time.
This company was also accused of providing services to Hezbollah, by transporting personnel, weapons and goods on behalf of the terrorist group.
With information from Infobae
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