Snowden misses flight to Cuba; Wikileaks says it knows where he is

Edward Snowden was not on his plane to Cuba this morning despite an attempt to flee from the U.S. government’s pursuit. Snowden left Hong Kong, his original hiding place, for Moscow over the weekend, and he is in contact with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

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Snowden was supposed to be on a flight to Havana, Cuba, and would likely move from there to a country such as Ecuador or Venezuela. Ecuador has already offered asylum to Assange, who is facing extradition to the United States for his alleged part in “Cablegate,” a 2010 leak of U.S. diplomatic cables. Snowden was seemingly not on the plane, which was surrounded by police before takeoff.

Snowden is wanted for espionage in the United States after releasing documents about a government surveillance program called PRISM that many feel infringes on Americans’ privacy.

Wikileaks tweeted a message from its leader saying, “We are aware of where Snowden is. He is safe, and ‘his spirits are high.’ We cannot reveal what country he is in at this time.”

Assange and his representatives held a press conference this morning, saying he did not believe Snowden had been questioned by the Russian or Chinese governments. Some are speculating that Snowden did not make his Cuban flight due to Russia’s own interests in the information he has.

The U.S. revoked over the weekend, though Wikileaks has reportedly gotten him other travel documents meant for refugees.

hat tip New York Times; Jose Marti Airport Havana Cuba photo via calflier001/Flickr