Snowden offers to help Brazil beat NSA spying

American intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden says he is ready to help the Brazilian government investigate US spying activities in the Latin American country.

In an open letter published on Tuesday, Snowden wrote that US officials justify their spying activities by saying they aim “to keep you safe.” But, he said, “these programs were never about terrorism: they’re about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. They’re about power.”

“Now, the whole world is listening back, and speaking out, too,” Snowden added.

He avoided directly requesting asylum from Brazil. However, he said that the US will not let him speak until a country grants him permanent political asylum.

Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaked two top secret US government spying programs under which the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

The NSA scandal took even broader dimensions when Snowden revealed information about its espionage activities targeting friendly countries.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff canceled a visit to Washington in October after it was revealed that his cell phone was monitored by the US surveillance program, as were the state oil company Petrobras and everyday Brazilian citizens.

On October 13, Brazilian Senator Ricardo Ferraco, who is also the deputy chair of a parliamentary inquiry into the spying activities, announced that Brasilia would ask for an authorization for a teleconference with Snowden with the Russian ambassador later that month.

Snowden is currently in Russia after Moscow in August granted him asylum for one year.