Ecuador Leader Thumbs Nose at US, Trying to Help Snowden with Asylum
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino (C) speaks to the media at his hotel in Hanoi June 24, 2013. Patino, currently on a visit to Vietnam, said on Monday that his nation has received a request for political asylum from Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, but no decision had been taken. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM – Tags: POLITICS)
Ecuador says it’s considering Snowden’s request for asylum.
This is the same country that’s sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange inside its embassy in London.
The South American country’s foreign minister has hinted that his government is inclined to help Snowden – even at the risk of angering the United States.
Reporter John Otis is following the story from Bogota, Colombia.
He says Ecuador’s leftist government has a history of clashing with the US.