Who has the letters of transit?

Maybe he ought to go to Rick's Cafe American and see Rick.

Just give him a ticket to Havana, with a connecting flight to Managua.

I thought he was already offered asylum by a country he applied to. Now he's shopping? Maybe he's after the highest bidder, showing that beggars *can* be choosers. At least they can think it's so.

Not only that, but Putin may be tiring of Snowden. If Russia sees him as playing games when their allies are trying to assist, I wouldn't give Edward much more time as a free man.

There is no advantage in delaying, but much risk. He already has a pretty weak hand and more than a couple of countries are going to have to be visibly assisting, including at minimum Russia and the asylum guarantor.

Why should anybody stick their neck out for a guy who is obviously not making rational decisions?

Of course, we here likely are not hearing all of what's going on behind the scenes. And who knows if the reportage is accurate.

If I were Snowden, I would have transmitted an affirmative reply fairly quickly. Isn't that what he's asking for?

This just doesn't make any sense.

Better optics

However, these matters are probably being handled by his lawyer. I do hope they finally extend the courtesy of a thank you. He may change his mind about Nicaragua in the future and needs to keep those other doors open.

Also, he should not be seen as shopping for a better offer. That could end his asylum offers quickly.

On the other hand, if I were Snowden, I would also want correspondence to be secret -- no journalists -- so that my flight would have a chance to succeed. We may not hear about a resolution until he's safe on foreign asylum shores. That's the way I would play it.