Venezuelan official detained at JFK(showed up late without a ticket)

AP ^ | 09/24/06 | IAN JAMES

[TigerLikesRooster]

Venezuelan official detained at JFK

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer

19 minutes ago

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.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke denied that Maduro was mistreated at John F. Kennedy International Airport when he was selected for an added security check.

"He began to articulate his frustration with secondary screening right after he went through," a metal detector, Knocke said. "Port Authority officials confronted him when the situation became a ruckus."

Maduro said when one official ordered him to go to another room for a strip-search, he refused. He told CNN en Espanol that the official pushed him and yelled at him.

He told reporters the situation only worsened when he explained he was the Venezuelan foreign minister and showed his diplomatic passport.

Maduro said authorities at one point ordered him and other officials to spread their arms and legs and be frisked, but he said they forcefully refused. He said officers also threatened to handcuff him.

"We responded with the dignity of Venezuelan revolutionaries ... with strength," Maduro told reporters at Venezuela's mission to the U.N. "It's a Nazi government, a racist government."

If this is how U.S. authorities treat a foreign minister, he said, "what won't they do to Arab people for wearing a turban?"

He said his passport and ticket were seized and eventually returned, but the incident prevented him from flying home Saturday.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said it was a "regrettable incident" for which "the U.S. government has apologized."

The two countries' relations — strained for several years — took a particularly confrontational turn this week, when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the annual U.N. General Assembly, called President Bush "the devil." U.S. officials often call Chavez a threat to democracy.

Maduro told reporters that the treatment of him and other Venezuelan officials seemed in part to be an "attempt to provoke us."

He said about an hour and 20 minutes into his detention, he received a call from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, who apologized and said State Department officials were on their way to resolve the matter.

Five minutes later, State Department officials arrived and ordered Maduro and the others to spread their arms and legs to be frisked by police, he said.

Maduro said Venezuela has lodged a protest with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and that the incident should be investigated so that those responsible are punished. He said those who detained him did not make any particular accusations.

Earlier Saturday, Chavez said on Venezuelan television that U.S. officials had detained Maduro after linking him to a failed coup that Chavez led in 1992.

"They have held him accusing him of participating in terrorist acts," Chavez said in Venezuela. "He didn't even participate in that patriotic rebellion."

Chavez also said Bush may be seeking to kill him for calling him "the devil" at the U.N.

Venezuela is among the top five suppliers of crude to the U.S., but relations soured in 2002 after the Bush administration swiftly recognized leaders who briefly ousted Chavez in a coup.

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[Paladin2]

If they are so revolutionary, why didn't they ride a camel to NYC?

[Master of Orion]

The article forgot to mention that he paid cash for his one-way ticket. Ramsey Cluck was also on the news about this and started spouting off that rights were violated, blah, blah blah.

[sgtbono2002]

They should have been lit up with a Taser.

[jimtorr]

Five minutes later, State Department officials arrived and ordered Maduro and the others to spread their arms and legs to be frisked by police, he said.

Even the State Department recognized the suspicious actions of these thugs from Venezuela. They simply directed them to comply with security.

AP does not acknowedge this until near the end of the article, and finished up with more 'words of wisdom' from Chavez.

[roaddog727]

Venezuela has now taken over the poll position in the ANit-US propaganda war.

Such crap.

Declare him PNG and deny him future access - even transit access.

A@@holes!

[roaddog727]

ANit-Anti

not enough coffee yet....
:-)

[Cheburashka]

Chavez saw the uproar that the Barking Moonbat from Georgia was able to create with the Capitol Police and decided to recreate it with American airport security. I'm sure that if a hand was laid upon the a**hole it was to restrain him from trying to bull his way through security.

Expect the same thing to happen to American diplomats trying to fly out of Caracas shortly, only this time the physical manhandling will be real.

[L.N. Smithee]

If this is how U.S. authorities treat a foreign minister, he said, "what won't they do to Arab people for wearing a turban?"

You haven't been paying attention, dude. Those are the ones that aren't searched.

[L.N. Smithee]

The two countries' relations — strained for several years — took a particularly confrontational turn this week, when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the annual U.N. General Assembly, called President Bush "the devil." U.S. officials often call Chavez a threat to democracy.

Maduro told reporters that the treatment of him and other Venezuelan officials seemed in part to be an "attempt to provoke us."

Uh, yeah, right. Unlike calling the leader of the nation you are visiting Beelzebub, which isn't provocation at all. No sirree.

Venezuela is among the top five suppliers of crude to the U.S.

You can say that again.

[sasha123]

I'm glad you mentioned that MOO, It also said that as he went to take his bags off screening, he was asked not to do so yet and that is what started the problem.

Then quote "Maduro was screened and asked to go through a second security check, and a disagreement ensued when the foreign minister refused and began making calls on his cell phone, the official said.

Only after his cell phone, travel documents and passport were confiscated did Maduro explain that he is a diplomat, the official said.

He refused to be searched, so the State Department official probably had to do it.

A senior White House official said airport officials did not know who Maduro was. The Venezuelan government never made arrangements through State Department Diplomatic Security, which is customary when a high-ranking foreign official is traveling, the official said.

The worst part of this is that he reported back that he was threatened with being beaten. How ridiculous. Chavez said this was orchestrated by "Mr. Devil".

[river rat]

Another reason why we should toss the U.N. out of the U.S...
We already have far too many of these "Diplomats" in the country...

The U.S. is on the receiving end of all these insults from the Turd World - because we DON'T REPOND in a manner that delivers consequences for bad behavior...

Time to take off the "white hat" and kick a little stupid ass around.

Semper Fi

[hummingbird]

In the words of a very brave, patriotic American..."he can kiss my royal Irish *ss."

I thing that's how it goes...