Last of plane crew detained in Argentina reach Venezuela

CARACAS (Reuters) – The last five members of an Iran-linked cargo plane grounded in Argentina arrived in Venezuela on Friday, according to footage from Venezuelan state television, after being held in Buenos Aires for nearly four months.

An Argentine court ruled last week there was no evidence to charge the two Venezuelans and three Iranians for links to terrorist activities, for which they were being investigated.

Transport Minister Ramon Velasquez told Telesur he was celebrating “the freedom of the 19 crew members that who were kidnapped by the Argentine judiciary.”

The remainder of the 19-person crew arrived in Venezuela last month.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane, sold to Venezuela by Iran’s Mahan Air a year ago, was grounded in June on suspicions around its declared reason for entering the country.

Argentina later seized the plane on request of a court in the United States, which has sanctioned Iran and Venezuela, both of which retain close ties.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Editing by William Mallard)