Evo Morales Flying to Bolivia after 13 Hours in Austria

President Evo Morales travels to Bolivia after more than 13 hours waiting in Austria, where he arrived after Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France denied flight permission over their territories.

Before leaving Vienna, the president expressed gratitude for the solidarity of his Austrian peer Heinz Fischer, who visited him accompanied by representatives of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) at the Schwechat airport.

Morales’ departure took place a while after Madrid authorized the overfly and a stopover of the Bolivian presidential plane in Spanish soil.

That Iberian nation was the last to allow passage of the aircraft through its air space, and initially conditioned the authorization to an inspection of the cargo and crew.

The four European countries refused to give air permission after some rumors that former CIA agent Edward Snowden, pursued by Washington for leaking secret documents, traveled to Bolivia with Morales.

The cancellation of Morales’ flight permmission created a deep sense of unease in Latin America, where several presidents condemned what happened, and called a meeting of the Union of South American Nations to assess a common position on the incident.

In Bolivia, hundreds of people held vigils, while a ceremony to welcome Morales at the airport in the peripheral city of El Alto is planned for today.