Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Colombia: President Gustavo Petro: Trump's insult to myself and Colombia is no longer aimed at achieving an effective counter-drug strategy
Trump cancels Putin meeting, says "didn't feel right"
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Caracas: The United States attacks another alleged drug-trafficking ship off the coast of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean
Palestinian official urges world to force 'Israel' to comply with ICJ ruling: AFP
Israeli media says Knesset approved bill to annex in West Bank in preliminary reading
Kremlin: As part of strategic nuclear force exercise, Cruiser Bryansk launched Sineva ballistic missile from Barents Sea.
Kremlin: Yars Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome at Kura test site in Kamchatka.
Kremlin: Strategic nuclear forces exercise took place under Putin's leadership.
Lebanese MP Imad Al-Hout, following his meeting with the Grand Mufti of the Republic: Lebanon is the last country to move toward peace and normalization [with "Israel"]
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyr reported in Israeli drone strike targeting motorcycle in Ain Qana.

Venezuelan plane returns home with 12 of 19 crew members

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 17 Sep 2022 09:19
4 Min Read

The detention of the now-released Venezuelan plane reeks of American intervention, as the FBI handles the investigation in Argentina, with a crew member calling the intervention a shortcoming of the latter's governmental abilities.

  • x
  • Crew members are greeted by relatives at the airport (AFP)
    Crew members are greeted by relatives at the airport (AFP)

As the Venezuelan plane held in Argentina returned on Friday at the Simón Bolívar de Maiquetía international airport, Minister of Transportation and president of the state-owned Conviasa, Ramón Velásquez Araguayán, told teleSUR: "We are celebrating the arrival of our first 12 crew members of our Emtrasur airplane (a subsidiary of the state-owned Conviasa), they are an example of ethics, strength and revolutionary struggle that they have endured and here they are arriving with the joy of all Venezuelans when they arrive to their country, happy to set foot on Venezuelan soil." 

The plane, named Empresa de Transporte Aerocargo del Sur (Emtrasur), carried only 12 of 19 crew members as the judge of the case prohibited the departure of seven other crew members: the pilot Gholamreza Ghasemi, Abdolbaset Mohammadi, and the Venezuelans Víctor Pérez Gómez, considered the general manager of operations, the mechanic José García Contreras and Mario Arraga Urdaneta, on the basis that there was still evidence to look into.

The plane first landed on June 6 in Argentina to deliver cargo consisting of auto parts from the German company Volkswagen, but just as it was about to leave Argentinean territory that same day, the plane did not receive any fuel from local companies for fear of the sanctions that the US could impose. 

According to AFP, one of the Iranians that are ordered to remain in Buenas Aires is Gholam-Reza Qasemi, which the US alleges is an ex-IRGC member. 

With 14 Venezuelan and five Iranian crew members, the flight proceeded to Uruguay two days later on June 8 to refuel in order to return to Venezuela but was met with rejection by Uruguayan authorities to land in the country and was rerouted to Ezeiza, Argentina. Following the series of events, the US Department of Justice sent a request to Argentinian authorities to seize the Boeing 747 3B3 aircraft, which was bought from Mahan Air, an Iranian aviation firm, and which was sanctioned by the US for alleged connections to terrorism. 

In an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen Espanol's Madelein Garcia, Iranian Master Flight Instructor and the main pilot of the Boeing 747 aircraft, Gholamreza Ghasemi, disclosed that they entered Argentina with a passport paper and according to international laws, and left with the same paper and no conflicts arose until the Argentinian authorities refused to supply fuel for the plane. 

Later on, a judge in Argentina accepted the US' petition to confiscate the aircraft under investigation by Venezuela's justice system. The case file stated that the plane was under the control of Venezuela's Emtrasur, which allowed "the re-export of the aircraft between Caracas, Venezuela, Tehran, Iran, and Moscow, Russia, without the permission of the US government." 

In another exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen Espanol, Mario Arraga of the detained crew members, expressed his shock after discovering that the FBI is accountable for his detention, wondering if Argentina lacks its proper governmental investigative body. He recalled that at one point they were informed that the United States was on the front lines and behind what was going on with them.

“Today there is an order issued by the court of a federal judge in Florida ordering the confiscation, that is, the seizure, of our plane... However, the Public Prosecutor approved the Florida court's decision... As a result, the plane is now in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America," he concluded.

On his account, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pushed for the return of the aircraft, stating on the VTV channel: "Now they intend to steal our plane, as they stole our gold in London, as they stole from us [oil refinery in the United States] Citgo, steal a plane belonging to Venezuela ... We declare our protest that the Venezuelan plane be returned to us."

  • Cargo
  • US
  • Venezuela
  • Argentina
  • Nicolas Maduro

Most Read

Yemeni Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari , during a ceremony in an undisclosed locations in Yemen, undate (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces mourn martyred Chief of Staff al-Ghamari

  • Politics
  • 16 Oct 2025
From previous scenes of the Qassam Brigades targeting an Israeli D9 bulldozer with a Yassin 105 shell, east of Deir al-Balah. (Military Media of the Qassam Brigades)

US knew fatal Rafah blast cause was not Hamas op., says journalist

  • Politics
  • 20 Oct 2025
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, during a speech televised on October 22, 2025 (Al-Quds Brigades Military Media)

Al-Quds Brigades' Abu Hamza mourns leaders, vows continued resistance

  • Politics
  • 22 Oct 2025
Smoke and fire rises after 'Israel' launched airstrikes on the village of Ansar, Lebanon, October 16, 2025 (social media)

'Israel' launches two waves of brutal strikes on east, south Lebanon

  • Politics
  • 16 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Pro-Palestinian activists protest at Lafayette Park across from the White House to mark the approaching one year anniversary of the Israeli war on Gaza, Saturday, October 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Arts and Culture

Jewish figures call for sanctions on 'Israel' over Gaza genocide

Activists from the Foreign Press Association during a panel calling for press freedom in Gaza, April 11, 2025 in London, England. (X/ @FPALondon)
Politics

FPA demands Israeli court to allow int'l journalists access to Gaza

Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, Thursday July 17, 2025. (AP Photo)
Politics

Cuban man deported from US to Eswatini launches hunger strike

Russia President Vladimir Putin conducts a strategic nuclear forces exercise via videoconference from the Presidential Situation Centre at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Politics

Putin oversees ICBM, cruise missile tests in strategic nuclear drill

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS