South Americans demand apology for plane incident

David Jackson | USA TODAY

President Obama's counterparts in South America are demanding apologies over this week's Bolivian plane incident.

South America's leftist leaders are rallying behind Bolivian President Evo Morales after his plane was re-routed because of suspicions that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was aboard.

The presidents demanded apologies from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain over the blocking of air space for Morales' plane, and many said the United State was behind the whole incident.

"A minster of one of those European governments told me personally that it was the CIA who gave the order to the aeronautical authorities, the one who gave the alert that Snowden was on the plane," said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at a political gathering in Bolivia. "The CIA is more powerful than governments."

Snowden, still believed to be in the Moscow airport, was not on the Bolivian airplane.

For his part, Morales said: "United we will defeat American imperialism. We met with the leaders of my party and they asked us for several measures and if necessary, we will close the embassy of the United States. We do not need the embassy of the United States."

From the Associated Press:

"Morales again blamed Washington for pressuring European countries to refuse to allow his plane to fly through their airspace on Tuesday, forcing it to land in Vienna, Austria, in what he called a violation of international law. He had been returning from a summit in Russia during which he had suggested he would be willing to consider a request from Snowden for asylum.

"Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Friday they and other European countries were told Snowden was aboard the Bolivian presidential plane.

"The minister did not say who supplied the information and declined to say whether he had been in contact with the United States. But he says European countries' reactions were based on this information.

"Latin American leaders were outraged by the incident, calling it a violation of national sovereignty and a slap in the face for a region that has suffered through humiliations by Europe and several U.S.-backed military coups."