Dear Eduardo,
It must be hard for you to realize that beyond the cheers from the radical extremes of the political spectrum for what you’ve done, realpolitik always triumphs over naïve behavior.
You probably don’t know this, but I’ve met some of the actors involved in your current existential dilemma. Back in 2008, I was the VP of Operations at the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), an NGO founded by a Venezuelan like myself. One of the first things I did was travel to Ecuador, twice, to the El Inca prison. You might be wondering why on earth I did that, and I’ll tell you: I went to visit the governor of Orellana, Guadalupe Llori, an outstanding indigenous woman, leader of a leftist political movement, and former supporter of Rafael Correa. Guadalupe was democratically elected, just like Correa. She had a mandate from her voters, just as Correa did. But once she came to power and started doing the same things she had criticized previous governments for, like sending the army to crush dissent, Guadalupe rebelled. And she did so because the province where she was elected (Orellana) was at the center of protests from oil workers over terrible working conditions, lack of infrastructure, pollution, etc. After Correa decided to send in the army, Guadalupe referred to him on a local TV station as a brute.
You might think that was a “fair comment.” But Correa, a man from a dysfunctional family with a big chip on his shoulder, decided to accuse Guadalupe of being a “terrorist” and sent her to jail for nearly 10 months. I visited her in that prison, twice. I still have two dolls she made while there that she gifted to my children. I was the only representative from a local or international human rights NGO who visited her to raise awareness about the injustice of her case. Thanks to HRF’s campaign, Guadalupe was released and acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence. However, she was forcibly removed from her democratically elected position on false charges. This was just one of two women on the entire American continent at that time – the other being Sarah Palin – to hold such a position. The episode, as you can imagine, was a significant embarrassment for Correa and his regime.
Later, I was asked to help organize the first Oslo Freedom Forum, a rights conference produced by HRF. I was there in its first year, 2009. In 2010, after I was no longer an HRF employee, I followed the proceedings and listened to Guadalupe thank us for the help we provided. Curiously enough, that year her handler, Julian Assange, was one of the guest speakers at the Oslo Freedom Forum. This was before he had those issues in Sweden and the Manning leaks. So let me tell you, Assange must have read, at the very least, about Guadalupe and what Correa had done to her in the conference prospectus. I guess you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Julian was hiding out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
I’ve determined that Julian is far from being this admirable defender of transparency, the rule of law, democracy, and freedom. His actions, especially his decision to seek asylum with Correa, speak volumes about his true nature. When I first heard about you, I thought, “Wow, how great that this guy raised awareness for a proper debate on the issue.” But then, like Julian before you, you appeared in Hong Kong, then flew to Russia, from which you said you wanted to go elsewhere, to Ecuador, which I’ve already discussed, or Cuba, where you’ve also been visiting those processed by the Castro communist dictators, and Venezuela, my home country. Now let me say this, Edward, none of your current contacts know even a fraction of what’s happening in my country. That includes Julian. It’s possible that for reasons of convenience and survival, he’s formed some kind of marriage of convenience with Rafael Correa’s regime. While I’m not an expert on Ecuador, I certainly am on Venezuela.
In Venezuela, a journalist investigating a company that unlawfully obtained state energy contracts gets visited by intelligence and security forces; their mother receives threatening calls; their car and house get tampered with, and they experience all kinds of harassment. I’m not even talking about state secrets, Edward, like the ones you’re revealing. No. A journalist simply doing their job and trying to keep those awarding public contracts honest. A judge, also just doing their job and following the law, is sent to prison at the whim of the president. The same goes for police officers. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you’re Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, or Cuban, and you want to leak what you have to the media in Venezuela, Ecuador, or Cuba. First, you need to identify which media, right? To maximize exposure? Well, let me tell you this: there isn’t a single national media outlet in those countries that, today, would publish state secrets like the ones you have. Not one. If you have things that expose the opposition or private companies, then yes, there are many places you could go. In fact, until very recently, in Venezuela, a guy named Mario Silva had a primetime show on one of the state channels where reproducing illegally obtained phone recordings was routine. No one gets prosecuted for that; in fact, it is quite encouraged by the highest authorities. There’s no way to get relief because the courts are merely an appendage of the regime. You’re appalled by what your government does to spy on its citizens; what the hell do you think happens in Venezuela? Or in Cuba? Or in Russia? Or in China? Do you really believe that personal liberties are respected more in my country? Do you honestly think you have a better shot at justice in my country?
You’re meant to be a former intelligence analyst, so you must be aware of these things. If not, the U.S. intelligence apparatus is in serious trouble. You must have heard, learned, or known about such activities. It’s common knowledge. It’s been in all the media, aligned or not. Where do you think Cuba got its espionage program? From PRISMA? Or do I need to tell you about the Stasi? A Russian whistleblower was poisoned in a London café not long ago; have you heard about him? That was Alexander Litvinenko. Did you hear about the guy who exposed tax corruption? That was Sergei Magnitsky. How about Cuba? Have you heard anything, really, about what happens to people locked away in the jails just across the fence in Guantanamo?
I suppose what I’m trying to say to you, Edward, as someone who has made a very small leak, is this: If you have the moral fortitude to recognize when your government is acting wrongly and act accordingly, have the moral fortitude to recognize that your current partners/advisors are anything but role models. If you’re fleeing a country where the government spies on its people, the last place you should want to end up is Ecuador, China, Russia, Cuba, or Venezuela. I mean, come on! Your public stance on this particular issue has the credibility of a personal freedom advocate named Joseph Fritzl.
So I guess the best advice I could give you is to immediately distance yourself from Julian and his lawyer. As the Times wrote yesterday, a man locked in a closet for over a year in the Ecuadorian Embassy is not a legitimate advisor on how to avoid getting trapped.
Regarding your supposed intentions to go to my country, Ecuador, or Cuba, let me warn you: the moment you become an inconvenience, or your presence is no longer politically convenient, the rulers of those countries won’t hesitate for a second to dispose of you. There will be no media covering your case, no human rights NGO pressing for those regimes to claim sovereignty to wipe their behinds with all international conventions. Prisons in those countries are much, much worse than your mind could begin to imagine. Once in one of those, you won’t be able to claim anything about human rights, due process, etc., and your life won’t be worth anything. You might think, after what happened to Manning, that returning to your country is out of the question. If I may be extremely blunt, I’d say Manning is alive; he didn’t die, he wasn’t killed. In all those other countries, you could very well become the next Sergei Magnitsky, or the next Franklin Brito.
Best,
Alek