Hijacked Ship Heads For Brazil, Ignores U.S. Plane

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30059, 18 February 1963, Page 11

Hijacked Ship Heads For Brazil, Ignores U.S. Plane

(NZ. Pr«M Association—Copyright) RIO DE JANEIRO, February 16. United States Navy aircraft intercepted the hijacked Venezuelan freighter Anzoategui today and reportedly fired rockets across its bow. They tried to make it change course for Puerto Rico, the Associated Press said. The ship’s armed captors refused to change course and continued to steam down the South American Qoast, apparently seeking haven in Brazil.

In Washington, a Defence Department spokesman said he had no information on the alleged rocket firing but said the planes may have been trying to attract the ship’s attention.

The report of the firing came from Port of Spain, Trinidad, where a radio message from the freighter was apparently intercepted. An anti-submarine Neptune aircraft spotted the ship this morning about 450 miles south-east of Trinidad, after a largescale search of the Caribbean.

When the ship was sighted, the United States asked- for and was granted landing facilities in Dutch Guiana for a “large number” of search planes, the Netherlands News Agency reported from Paramaribo. The planes were expected there within the next three days. The 3127-ton Anzoategui was seized on Wednesday night by a band of Left-wing Venezuelan rebels. It was thought they were aiming to embarrass President Romulo Betaincourt, who will go to Washington next week to meet President Kennedy. Besides United States Navy planes, four Venezuelan destroyers with 1600 marines aboard have been searching for the hijacked ship. But her latest location puts her well outside the main search area. She had apparently steamed westward then turned south towards Brazil. When sighted she was nearly 1000. miles from La Guaira, the Venezuelan port from which she , sailed on Tuesday night bound for Houston, Texas. , The leader of the Left-wing revolutionary group in Venezuela said the nine men who seized the ship would make for Brazil and not Cuba, as originally intended. If the rebels sail the freighter into Brailian waters they will be following the example of Captain Enrique Galvao, the Portuguese rebel who hijacked the liner Santa Maria two years ago. Captain Galvao handed the liner over to the Brazilian Navy, which then returned it to Portugal. The rebels were granted political asylum in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Presidential press secretary told a press conference today that if the Anzoategui entered Brazilian territorial waters she would be “apprehended and her crew interned.” . The Brazilian naval bases at Belem and Recife have been alerted to patrol the coast.

At the time of the sighting, the Anzoategui, which has a normal crew of 36, was about 1150 miles south-west of Puerto Rico and about

800 miles north-west of the nearest Brazilian * port, Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon river. The armed captors have said in several messages they are members of a guerrilla detachment o( the Armed Forces for National Liberation, a Venezuelan organisation engaged in terrorist activities in hopes of upsetting the liberal, anti-Com-munist Government of President Betancourt. The United States Navy picked up a partially garbled message in Washington, presumably from the Anzoategui, addressed to the Associated Press in San Juan.

Jt said the “captain, officers, crew are as usual.” but the message was garbled after that point. Then it added: “Will the United States offer asylum to members of the National Liberation Armed Forces the same as Cuba? We are waiting an answerr.” Jt was signed “Medina Rojas.” The State Department had no immediate comment.

would give asylum to the captors of the Anzoategui and turn the ship over to the United Nations, Havana Radio said yesterday. United States planes and ships were searching for the freighter but it was not known what action the Americans would take if they spotted it, the Associated Press said. Apparently this would depend on circumstances.

They could intercept and take control of the ship. But the preferred course seemed to be to trail the freighter

unital Venezuelan searchers could arrive and take over. Stale Department inform - anta said that when the was located the first step would be to “tell the Venezuelans.” United States authorities explained that the United States was tracking the hijacked ship because of Venezuela’s request, not because of piracy. They said whatever Venezuelan laws the hijackers might have violated, they were not pirates as defined in international law. Information in Washington was that the freighter had been seized by people already on the vessel and had not tried to • attack other shipping or Property. The Venezuelan Government had declared the hijackers to be pirates and branded the Anzoategui a pirate ship. Venezuelan warships were authorised tn use force if necessary to recapture the vessel. In Venezuela, Left-wing terrorists used bombs, gunfire and banditry in steppedup strikes today against Venezuelan businesses and the Roman Catholic Church, AP. said. Right-wing extremists struck back violently. Left-wing terrorists were blamed for a string of bombings, inducting destruction of an oil pipeline belonging to a Gulf Petroleum subsidiary, and two robberies that netted about 23.000 dollars. A Right-wing terrorist group celled the Black Cross hilt back with an unsuccess-

ful bombing attempt on the

life of a lawyer. Omar Mesa Ramirez. in San Cristobal. A black cross was found painted on his car. In Caracas, the capital, a gun battle routed five men who were painting on walls the letters F.A.L.N. The victors splashed the black cross symbol in its place. Their opponents continued their bomb strikes against Catholic school buses, injuring at least one pupil. The Catholic Teach ere’ Federation threatened to form protective brigades.

In spite of this strife and the embarrassment caused by tfhe hijacking. President Betancourt went ahead with plans to leave on Monday for 12 days of State visits tn the United States, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.