Edward Snowden Hong Kong: Conflict Between United States And Ecuador? President Correa Considers Granting NSA Leaker Asylum, US Condemns Ecuador Wikileaks Refuge

Ecuador's president and foreign minister declared Monday that national sovereignty and universal principles of human rights would govern their decision on granting asylum to Edward Snowden, the Associated Press reports.

The South American country's recent decision marks another stage in the increased conflict between the left-leaning administration of President Rafael Correa and right-leaning security groups of the United States, after Ecuador granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London.

Edward Snowden failed to board his flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday, but Julian Assange reassured activists around the world that the 30-year-old former contractor for the National Security Agency is "in a safe place."

But now that Edward Snowden isn't heading to Cuba, a popular destination for activists who have combated U.S.-sponsored corruption, many say he's looking to Ecuador and President Rafael Correa for asylum and security - a decision the Ecuadorean government might consider.

Edward Snowden surprised American officials last weekend by fleeing from Hong Kong, where he's been hiding for weeks, and leaving for Moscow, despite the United States having filed charges against Snowden including espionage and an extradition request made to Hong Kong, ABC News writes.

And now that American officials are on the hunt for Edward Snowden and want to return him to the United States for felony charges, the governments of Ecuador and Russia have vocally opposed the United States' assumed international jurisdiction over political exiles.

Julian Assange, who has supported Edward Snowden throughout his legal and political asylum process, told reporters that the National Security Agency muckraker is "healthy and safe."