César Pérez, president of the Emtrasur company, revealed on Saturday that two managers of the company, a cargo subsidiary of Conviasa, are part of the crew that is being held in Argentina and is being investigated for alleged links to international terrorism.
He explained that he is the General Manager of Operations and the Finance Manager of Emtrasur. “When an airport is visited for the first time, they attend to make a direct link, to contact the authorities and get to know them,” he explained in an interview published in Twitter by the journalist Orlenys Ortiz.
He described as absurd that the number of crew members who were on board the Venezuelan-Iranian plane held in Argentina since June 8 with 19 people, 5 of them of Iranian nationality, is questioned.
Pérez explained that the five Iranians on board are instructors who are training the Venezuelan crew because, he argued, the country has never had a plane with these characteristics and does not have pilots to handle aircraft of this type.
“The one who sold us the system (the Iranian company Mahan Air) included logistical support in the contract. They are supporting us until I have my crews fully certified,” he said.
In his opinion, it was highly irresponsible Uruguay deny the aircraft the overflight permit, once it had already taken off from Buenos Aires with all the permits and bound for Montevideo to refuel and continue its journey to Caracas.
The president of Emtrasur explained that the plane had already carried out another 14 cargo operations since last February and that it also completed some charter flights to generate its resources and become sustainable as a company.
«The team is unjustly kidnapped in Argentina. I ask the authorities of Argentina to finish opening their eyes and clarify this farce because even if they continue to scrutinize they will not get anything illegal because there is nothing illegal, “he added.
The Argentine Justice is carrying out an investigation to elucidate the possible links of the crew with international terrorism.
In this context, the passports of the entire crew were withdrawn and the plane was seized, pointing out the need to continue the investigation regarding the pilot of the plane, Gholamreza Ghasemi, all the crew that depended on him, the aircraft and its cargo.
The prosecutor in the case noted that the FBI reported that the pilot of the plane is the executive director and member of the board of directors of Qeshm Fars Air, a company that provides assistance to the Quds force – a division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran. and Mahan Air, which have been classified as terrorist entities.
