NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden offered asylum by Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered
asylum to Edward Snowden on Friday, saying his
country would protect the former US National
Security Agency contractor from being persecuted by
"the world's most powerful empire."
Mr Snowden is wanted by American authorities for
leaking information about classified US surveillance
programs and is believed to be hiding in the transit
area of a Russian airport.
"He is a young man who has told the truth, in the
spirit of rebellion, about the United States spying on
the whole world," Mr Maduro said during his
country's independence day celebrations on Friday.
Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega
signalled his willingness to give shelter to the former
intelligence contractor. "It is clear that if
circumstances permit it, we would receive Snowden
with pleasure and give him asylum here," he said in a
speech in Managua, without clarifying what those
circumstances might be.
"We have the sovereign right to help a person who felt
remorse after finding out how the United States was
using technology to spy on the whole world, and
especially its European allies," President Ortega
added. He said Nicaragua's embassy in Moscow was
studying an asylum application from Mr Snowden.
Mr Maduro spoke a day after he joined other South
American leaders in Bolivia to condemn the diversion
in Europe of a jet carrying the Bolivian President Evo
Morales amid suspicions that Mr Snowden might be
aboard. He said he had decided "to offer
humanitarian asylum" to the 30 year old American.
Despite the statements of support, it wasn't clear how
Mr Snowden, whose passport has been cancelled by
the US, might travel to either country. He is believed
to be hiding in the transit area of Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport after arriving from Hong Kong,
where he fled in May as he prepared to leak secret
information about the activities of America's vast
intelligence corps.
There was no immediate reaction from the Obama
administration to the statements from Venezuela and
Nicaragua - however, the Wall Street Journal quoted
a senior US official as saying that President Maduro's
offer appeared to be nothing more than a symbolic
gesture. "It's not clear as a practical matter that will
have any effect, because Snowden would still have to
get to Venezuelan territory," the unnamed official
told the paper.
On Thursday, Mr Maduro, who succeeded Hugo
Chavez as Venezuela's President, joined the leaders of
Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Suriname in the
Bolivian city of Cochabamba for a meeting with the
Bolivian President Evo Morales after the latter's jet
was diverted in Europe earlier in the week. Mr
Morales was returning from meetings in Russia when
his aircraft was forced to land in Vienna, Austria,
amid suspicions that Mr Snowden might have been
brought aboard in Moscow. The Bolivian leader has
blamed the US government for pressuring European
authorities to block his passage.
Yesterday, the WikiLeaks website said Mr Snowden
had applied to six new countries in his quest for
asylum. Earlier, he had approached more than 20
countries as he seeks a safe haven.