 Welcome to what the F is going on in Latin America and the Caribbean, a popular resistance broadcast of hot news out of the region. In partnership with Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti America's team, Code Pink, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, Interreligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action, and Task Force on the Americas. We broadcast Thursdays, excuse me, at 4.30 p.m. Pacific, 7.30 p.m. Eastern, right here on YouTube Live, including channels for the Convo Couch, Popular Resistance, and Code Pink. Post broadcast recordings can be found at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Telegram, RadIndyMedia.com, and now under Podcasts at PopularResistance.org. Today's episode, whatever happened to that plane, US Unilateral Sanctions and the saga of Venezuela's Entrasur Cargo 747. Our very special guest today is Orlene Zortiz. She's a citizen journalist joining us from Venezuela. I'm also very pleased to tell you, she's a personal friend of mine and I'm quite honored to have her join us for this episode. This is the first time she's appeared on what the F is going on in Latin America, and it's a real honor for me to host her in today's episode. Before we have her join us, I want to give all of you in the audience a brief background of this incredibly complicated, almost unbelievable situation that happened with the Venezuelan-owned cargo plane June of last year and the case has extended through this year as well. It involves grounding of the plane, sequestering the crew and many other really rare, unique, bizarre circumstances. Let me just give you this brief background and then we'll have Orlene's join us. She was one of the few journalists actually on the ground in Argentina covering this story from the very beginning. On May 3rd of this year, May 3rd, 2023, the Argentinian press reported a US prosecutor requested the US Justice Department to order the definitive execution of the seizure order of Entrasur Boeing 747-300, Entrasur being Empresa de Transporte Aerocargo del Sur. The plane arrived in Argentina in June 2022 and what was supposedly a routine cargo flight. Nonetheless, the aircraft, its cargo and its crew quickly raised the alarms across Argentina and it was seized by local authorities. Shortly after, US authorities got involved claiming the sale of the aircraft by the Iranian state carrier Mahan Air to Venezuela's Convianza was a clear violation of the US export control laws. Convianza deployed the 747 on its cargo subsidiary, Entrasur. Almost a year has passed, the crew has been released, but the plane remains grounded in Buenos Aires. Venezuela's government has repeatedly requested the return of the Entrasur Boeing 747. In the meantime, the US government has conducted a process to seize the aircraft. Argentina's Ministry of Justice has received a letter sent by the US Justice Department requesting that the aircraft be handed over to it. So I also should just say before we start this conversation, Entrasur acquired the aircraft in 2022. It operated a few cargo services across Latin America in 2022 before its grounding in Buenos Aires. According to the US Department of Justice, Mahan Air, the Iranian state airline, violated the temporary denial order and US export control laws when it sold the aircraft to Entrasur without the US government's authorization. Other violations of US laws occurred between February and May 2022 when Entrasur flew the aircraft between Caracas, Venezuela, Tehran, Iran, and Moscow, Russia without US government authorization. So I really want to point that out without US government authorization. This was a plane purchased and owned by the Iranian government and then sold to the sovereign nation of Venezuela. As the audience knows, this theme of extrajudicial reach of the United States government is a recurring topic on this program. So with that, I want to have you all meet Orlanis Ortiz, my friend and fellow activist and journalist. Orlanis was on the ground in Buenos Aires from the start of this case. Orlanis, maybe you can give us start with what you saw, why you went, and the initial days of this case. Then you also reported on the release of the crew members too last fall. Well, I'm pleased to be finally here with you. And I would like to convey my greetings to those hearing this conversation. Yes, a year has passed. So you feel some, you feel nostalgic, but we need to keep in our minds the things that we saw and lived. I was casually in Argentina between May and June. And when I was coming back home, I was supposed to come back home. The airline suspended the flight with VISA. And precisely, we started to see this in the media, the situation with the aircraft, with health in SESA. I tried to establish a contact with our colleagues in Venezuela to see if I was able to be there where the airplane was and have interviews with the crew and see and show what was going on. Because immediately, there was a condemnation in the media without further investigation. And in Venezuela, there had not political reaction to the situation. I had the opportunity to meet the crew members in SESA. I went from Buenos Aires to SESA. We were able to be familiar with the chronology or the schedule of the fact. And we started to coordinate with Argentinian colleagues so that we can have media spaces to precisely counteract this narrative that was being spread in an arbitrary and premeditated manner. Because the members of the crew were being accused as terrorists and they didn't have any criminal background. And when the investigation started, I mean, we started to show that they were not requested by Interpol or any police court. But since in Argentina, there is culturally an anti-Iranian sentiment. And Bingo, having this coincidence of Iranians and Venezuelans as part of a crew, that triggered the scandal. Because there were people promoting this media operation to somehow instill fear in the mind of people. Because it was an automatic condemnation for the crew members being Iranian and Venezuelan. So there was a lot of movement in the media. There was no response from the crew members because they didn't have a space to speak. So we were trying to have a counterbalance by showing documents, by talking to the crew members, by showing the first reports of the aircraft. The payment received of the fuel and that this fuel was not put on the aircraft because there was a fear for the sanctions that the United States could apply to those who were helping this aircraft. So what we saw later on was truly complex. And the complicity of the nearby government in the case of Uruguay, Paraguay, we saw how the president of Paraguay back then admitted publicly, and he was proud of that. That he had triggered an alert for this airplane to be withheld in Argentina because this airplane was suspicious. And there were members of the crew that were Iranian and Venezuelan. So these are the circumstances that surround the facts. And then we started to collect documents to show every stage of this process and that enabled us to dismantle this media operation. So let me just clarify for the audience. The plane is a Boeing 747. It was manufactured in the United States. It was sold to, I believe, a French airline first. The French sold it to the Iranian state airline. The Iranians sold it to Venezuela. Now, when you buy something, you believe you're buying it as a sovereign entity, whether an individual, a state government, or private business. And so the story is just so fascinating that none of these nations have any sovereignty outside of the United States. Now, the crew was Iranian and Venezuelan. The pilot was Iranian, I believe. And all of them were considered terrorists. Initially, am I correct in that? Labeled terrorists and held. The plane was grounded and held. And the crew was basically sequestered. Kidnap held in hotel rooms outside of Buenos Aires. Can you tell us a little bit about the crew, how they were designated, how and why they were designated terrorists, and what their story was. I mean, they were held from June to, I believe, October. Yes. Almost four months, if I'm not wrong. And from June 8, the aircraft that was already here, I want to share the slide that I brought in which you can see the fake news that were spread during the first stage of this situation, where you can see chronology of the facts and you see how this was depicted in the media, the whole media constructions against the crew member. This is vital to understand that this was not a spontaneous thing. This was systematic with complicity and in alliance with the main right wing media outlets in Argentina, such as Clarín, La Nación, among others. So there was a very important, significant coverage in prime time. The most important TV shows were actually trying to show things and saying and repeating messages and calling these crew members terrorists. And there are some things I would like to highlight while we share the slide. The 19 people that you mentioned that were kidnapped, yes, they were kidnapped because that's the real situation. They were not only withheld the life of these people during all this period of time, more than 400 days, was, I'm going to tell you the exact number. It's four months. I correct myself. But their lives were interrupted. Their work was interrupted. Their plans were interrupted. It was not the situation about the crew members, also the operations of the aircraft. So a lot of people and equipment were affected. And this, I mean, also a commercial situation, the appearance of this airline was a threat for the other airlines in the region. These 19 professionals of civil aviation, these are longstanding career crew members. They have a lot of experience. And I want to highlight this because I wanted to clarify any doubt. Why these crew had Venezuelan and Iranian members? Well, since Venezuela purchased this airplane, they needed to receive a training for properly handling this aircraft. And in the aircraft, we had a double crew of Iranians and Venezuelans because the Venezuelans were receiving training. They had completed all the theoretical part of their training. And now they were with the practical part. There was a single woman that was part of this crew, Victoria Valdivia. So she's the mother of three children. Can you imagine the drama of separating this mother of her children for such a long time? Two of them minors. And the story of each one of these persons, when I remember their stories, it gives me goosebumps. I remember their uncertainty, the feelings they were having. Because this is not about just covering the facts. I was there as a person. I was very involved with this case. And I was able to see with my very eyes what they were feeling, what their concern was, how they feel outraged because they had been kidnapped and their public image and their reputation were being stained in the long term. Because despite that they were released and that the case has turned into something else, and most of them were simply, their cases were dismissed. So nothing happened. But for them, something definitely happened because the effects of this are preventing them from working in some places. Some of them, their visas of to the United States, were annulled. So this type of consequences, they are also having familiar costs. So it's not only the members of the crew suffering from this unfair situation, but their families as well. So supporting them, for me, was important. Visibilizing their stories and showing the faces of the people involved. And when the stories started to be known, we started to saw expressions of solidarity in Argentina. People started to have doubts about the fake news that have been spread by the media. So at the moment, the United States shows up after the third day of the withholding of the aircraft. We started to hear the Americans saying that the judicial branch of Argentina has done a good job by withholding this airplane. So we started to see the United States making statements and demands. And it became evident the complicity of some factors, such as the judge who was in charge of issuing these measures for the withholding of the airplane and crew members. We started to see the delays and the requests for proofs. And after so many things, there was nothing conclusive to back the stories that have been spread by the media. It's very important to say that while this crew was here in Argentina kidnapped, or there in Argentina kidnapped, Entrasur covered all the expenses of the crew. Argentina didn't spend a single peso to maintain these people while they were kidnapped in Esesa. Food and accommodation was covered by Entrasur, transportation, all the expenses of the airplane. This is such an absurd situation. And I want to highlight this, because I know that the American audience didn't have the chance to actually access this information because not so many people pay attention to this topic. However, it's good that this is being shown and made visible. This is summarizing what happened. I wanted to show this, the story of the crew, because this is an experience they will never forget. I mean, I have to say, I find it. I didn't know, and I've been following your Twitter account specifically, when you were covering the story. And as you said, it's been really, really hard to find this story published in any mainstream media, almost impossible. And in fact, some of the articles that I've referenced researching our conversation today are, I have found the story covered in trade magazines, magazines for pilots and aircraft, airlines, and publication specific to the aeronautical industry. That's how absent it is from mainstream media, except for you. And I also, I had no idea. I had no idea that Entrasur covered all the expenses while the crew was grounded in Argentina. And so Entrasur covered the expenses for the Venezuelan crew members. What about the Iranians? Who took care of the Iranians? Also Entrasur, because they were the sponsor of the company. Of course. So there were two colleagues who were not part of the crew in terms of operation. And there was the operations manager and the finances manager, because they were trying to conduct new negotiations in the Argentinian territory and broaden the market. So this continues to be, this continues to make me feel outraged, because in Argentina, they didn't even cover the expenses. I mean, so they made the kidnapped crew to cover their own expenses. And we would wonder, who would have covered this if Entrasur didn't do it? Because you know the situations that we have in Venezuela. This is a state-owned company. We have seen all the limitations derived from the blockade. So it was really difficult. But what happened? What would have happened if Entrasur couldn't cover those expenses? What could have happened with the crew members? So there are so many questions to be answered. Maybe we will find the responses in the future. It's fascinating that the Argentinian justice system responded to the request order of the United States Department of Justice in holding the plane, in holding the crew, and yet doesn't cover any of the expenses. It's almost like they're playing both. They play both sides off the middle. We'll do what the United States wants. But if we actually cover the expenses of the plane and the crew, we're admitting that we have a definitive role in holding the plane and the crew on the ground in Buenos Aires. You know, it's just very, it's astounding that you would be held and expected to pay for yourself. So some of the crew, the Venezuelan crew members were allowed to return to Venezuela October, November of 2022. Is that correct? Yes, sorry, I lost a little bit at the beginning of the question. I repeated the question. Yes, it was progressively. First, there was a group that went back to Venezuela, then a second group, and the last five were the most significant members of the crew. The ones of hierarchy. The two managers of Entrasur, the main pilot, the person that was mostly targeted by the media, Qasem, and Mechanic, and the other person that I don't remember his function, who was also Iranian. So they were there. Up to the end, we were there because there were people like me that was going beyond the professional commitment. We were there to express solidarity, not only from the personal point of view, but also as representatives of Venezuela due to the brotherhood or the sisterhood between Venezuela and Iran. And I want to highlight two things, Terry. From the beginning, we were very clear that the intention of all this operation was to steal the aircraft. We said it from the beginning. The United States wants to keep this aircraft. I remember the first tweets that I made, and the first thing that it was said is that the United States wants to get a hold of the Venezuelan Iranian airplane. That first, firstly said. That was what I said at first. This is a violation of all sorts of things, not only national regulations of Venezuela and Argentina, but of all the facts in terms of international public law, all the violations perpetrated in the field of civil aviation. This is an unseen case, and I want to highlight this as well. And several investigations must be made because this is a precedent of actions that could be taken against other assets or this is a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty on the first place because this airplane technically was Venezuelan territory. You're violating many agreements, several PACs, and convention. And it's also a violation of Argentinian sovereignty due to this subordination that we saw following US orders. And another thing that I want to highlight is the role of M. Trasur from the commercial point of view. And I'm going to make this very simple. M. Trasur starts to be uncomfortable because their aircraft, 747, devoted to take cargo from one place to another, offered many advantages because of their capacity. Because while other companies could offer a service in more trips due to their limited capacity of their aircrafts, when compared to this 747, M. Trasur offered other advantages. This was a huge airplane with a capacity of transporting large amounts of cargo, but the costs of their services. Why? Because 70% of the cost of a flight of this type of cargo depends on fuel. In Venezuela, there is a producer. The state allows the possibility of having priority access to fuel at a lower cost. And this created an uncomfortable situation for the market of the region. And this was also a target to eliminate the company because it was a threat from the competitive point of view. And this was a source of income for Venezuela, and that was also a problem for the Americans. So in our last few minutes, I'm sorry for Orleni Sen and the audience that are interpreter, Carmelo Velazquez, who is so generous with his time and donating his time to do the translation. He has another job that he has to go to shortly. So we need to let him go. And so I just want to say, if I can just ask Carmelo before you leave, we can ask Orleni. The plane is still in Buenos Aires. Is it being sent back to the United States, or has the Argentinian government not determined that yet? There was a request earlier this month that it be sent. Yes, there, punctually? Yeah, punctually. What we have to wait is for the answer of the Argentinian government. After the, within the framework of the request that the US made, which is not a request, an order, it's an order, the judge ratified the acquittal of the 14 members of the case, but also released the airplane. So there's no case in Argentina against this aircraft. So this is in the hand of the Argentinian executive. We are waiting for that response. And I guess there are many discussions behind, you know, on the backstage. And we are waiting for them to decide to receive our aircraft back. In their hands, they have the power to decide. They have the opportunity to put an end to this, give the airplane back to Venezuela, and to make clear that this was nonsense. And it was just for the benefit of the interests of the US government. By the end of the year, I'm going to publish a book about this case. And I'm giving you this breaking news. We're going to include interviews with the crew members, media follow-up, showing the operations, who was behind this, and who acted in this political media judicial operation. And we're going to be able to find these details. And we'll be sharing this with you, OK? Oh, that's excellent. That's excellent news. And we'll be sure to have you come back when the book launches. And we'll have you come back and present the book to our audience. That'd be fabulous. If you're willing to. I'd love to have you come back and do that. So I know both of you are tight for time. So we should probably wrap up this episode. I'm so thankful, Orlanis, that you had time to join us this morning. Just really an honor for me to work with you. And I'm so happy to know you as a fellow journalist and to call you a friend and activist. And as the audience knows, I so consider Venezuela my second home. So really, really wonderful to have you join us today. And thank you, Carmela, for the last question, joining us from Buenos Aires to provide interpretation. For the audience, the two documents that I was not able to screen share, I will post those in the program notes for both platforms of broadcasts so that you have those. And so also, I should just remind the audience, you've been watching what the F is going on in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are a popular resistance broadcast. We broadcast every Thursday, 7 30 PM Eastern on simulcast on three YouTube channels, the Convo Couch, Code Pink, and popularresistance.org, whose broadcast recordings can be found at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. So thank you, Orlanis. Thank you, Carmelo. And thank you to the audience. We will see you. We will see you next week.