Maduro: Snowden can travel to Venezuela whenever he wants.
Former CIA technician Edward Snowden will be welcomed to Venezuela if he wishes, insisted the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, although Snowden has not yet revealed whether he will accept his offer of asylum.
CARACAS, Reuters - American Edward Snowden will be welcomed to Venezuela if he so wishes, the country's president Nicolás Maduro insisted on Monday, even though the former US intelligence agency employee has not yet revealed whether he will accept his offer of asylum.
The socialist government in Caracas expected an official response from Snowden on Monday. He is currently at one of Moscow's airports, serving an arrest warrant issued by the United States for revealing intelligence details from his country.
Bolivia and Nicaragua, governed by leftist presidents, have also expressed their willingness to grant asylum to Snowden, 30, in what was seen as a challenge to Washington after it sent a general extradition request and warned that it would retaliate against any country that shelters the fugitive.
"He will have to decide when he flies here, if he even wants to fly here," Maduro told reporters after meeting with his Panamanian counterpart, Ricardo Martinelli.
Snowden is being persecuted for disclosing details of secret surveillance programs, and the US has canceled his passport, leaving the American in a legal limbo as he struggles to leave Moscow, where he arrived on June 23 from Hong Kong.
In an attempt to avoid espionage charges, he requested asylum from about 20 countries. Some declined to consider the request, others said they could not process the request because he was outside their territories, and others did not comment on Snowden's petition.
(Reporting by Sebastián Rocandio)