Venezuela minister detained at US airport

NEW YORK – Venezuela’s foreign minister said he was illegally detained for 90 minutes at a New York airport by police, accusing them of treating him abusively and attempting to frisk and handcuff him.

US State Department officials called Saturday’s incident regrettable and said they had apologised to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. But he said that was not enough.”We were detained during an hour and a half, threatened by police with being beaten,” Maduro told reporters at Venezuela’s mission to the UN “We hold the US government responsible.”Maduro said the authorities at John F.Kennedy International Airport at one point ordered him and other members of his delegation to spread their arms and legs and be frisked, but they forcefully refused.”They tried to put on some handcuffs,” he said, describing it as a threat.”They would have had to take us out of that airport dead if they tried to touch us.”The incident comes as tensions between the two countries – strained for several years – took a particularly confrontational turn this week when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called US President George W.Bush “the devil” during a speech to the United Nations.Maduro said his passport and ticket were retained for a time, and finally given back to him.But he said the incident prevented him from travelling home Saturday.US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said it was a “regrettable incident” for which “the US government has apologised to Foreign Minister Maduro and the government of Venezuela.”Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke denied that Maduro was mistreated.”There’s no evidence to substantiate any sort of abnormality in the screening process.”US officials said Maduro had been identified for “secondary screening” – an added security check that can kick in for various reasons.”He began to articulate his frustration with secondary screening right after he went through the magnetometer,” Knocke said, referring to the walk-through metal detector.”Port Authority officials confronted him when the situation became a ruckus.”Knocke did not elaborate.A UN diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said Maduro’s trip was delayed because he had showed up late without a ticket, prompting the screening.Nampa-APBut he said that was not enough.”We were detained during an hour and a half, threatened by police with being beaten,” Maduro told reporters at Venezuela’s mission to the UN “We hold the US government responsible.”Maduro said the authorities at John F.Kennedy International Airport at one point ordered him and other members of his delegation to spread their arms and legs and be frisked, but they forcefully refused.”They tried to put on some handcuffs,” he said, describing it as a threat.”They would have had to take us out of that airport dead if they tried to touch us.”The incident comes as tensions between the two countries – strained for several years – took a particularly confrontational turn this week when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called US President George W.Bush “the devil” during a speech to the United Nations.Maduro said his passport and ticket were retained for a time, and finally given back to him.But he said the incident prevented him from travelling home Saturday.US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said it was a “regrettable incident” for which “the US government has apologised to Foreign Minister Maduro and the government of Venezuela.”Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke denied that Maduro was mistreated.”There’s no evidence to substantiate any sort of abnormality in the screening process.”US officials said Maduro had been identified for “secondary screening” – an added security check that can kick in for various reasons.”He began to articulate his frustration with secondary screening right after he went through the magnetometer,” Knocke said, referring to the walk-through metal detector.”Port Authority officials confronted him when the situation became a ruckus.”Knocke did not elaborate.A UN diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said Maduro’s trip was delayed because he had showed up late without a ticket, prompting the screening.Nampa-AP