Argentine Judge Dismisses 14 Emtrasur Crew Members

On Tuesday, Federal Judge Federico Villena dismissed 14 of the 19 crew members of the Venezuelan Emtrasur plane that has been held in Argentina since June 6.

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Villena summoned the other five crew members to the Lomas de Zamora court, where they denied the accusations of links to terrorism.

Previously, the Federal Chamber of La Plata authorized the departure of 12 crew members from the country and granted the federal judge a period of 10 days to resolve the procedural situation of the accused.

Venezuelan citizens Victor Perez, general manager of the company's operations, and Mario Arraga, administration manager, presented their defenses in writing and asked Judge Villena to be dismissed.

On June 6, the Boeing 747-300 entered Argentina to transfer cargo to an automotive company. In his crew were 5 Iranians and 14 Venezuelans.

The plane seized in Argentina is owned by Emtrasur, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan airline Conviasa. This plane was purchased from Mahan Air, an Iranian company accused by the United States of being linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran-Qods Force, which the State Department lists as a terrorist organization.

Since Emtrasur and Conviasa are companies sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, Washington pressured the Argentine authorities to retain the plane in its territory.