In late November 2016, the Chapecoense football club was poised for success. The small-town team had successfully climbed the rankings, drawing David and Goliath comparisons for their wins against big-time teams and earning fans with their tight-knit teamwork. But on their way to play their first-ever international final in Medellín, 71 passengers – including most of the team and its entire coaching staff – died when their plane crashed into a mountain near Medellín.
The plane crash has been under intense scrutiny almost ever since it happened. On the final leg of the flight, pilot Miguel Quiroga declared an emergency due to a lack of fuel and lost signal approximately 30 miles from its destination. The faulty plane was apparently owned by Quiroga, who died in the crash, along with Marco Antonio Rocha, who fled and has yet to be found. New evidence, however, suggests that the initial skepticism around the crash could have more basis than initially believed.
Audio recordings implicate Venezuelan elites
The plane was owned by LaMia, a Bolivian incarnation of a failed Venezuelan airline. Its time as a Bolivian company was short-lived: it had just two airplanes and only operated from mid-2015 until December 1, 2016. And while Quiroga and Rocha...
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