NSA leaker Edward Snowden was frantically trying to find a country that would grant him asylum Tuesday, sending out a slew of requests to nearly 20 additional nations as a short-lived bid to take refuge in Russia appeared to fizzle.
Now, his best hope for leaving the transit zone at the Moscow airport, where he is thought to have spent the past week, may be the president of Venezuela — who was in Moscow on Tuesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Venezuela was among the 19 countries that Snowden requested asylum with late Sunday, according to WikiLeaks. The anti-secrecy group, which is aiding Snowden, revealed the scope of Snowden’s asylum requests Monday night.