The former NSA contractor accused of espionage has been one step ahead of the U.S. government and continues to elude arrest as he travels around the globe. After flying out of Hong Kong, Snowden touched down in Russia and has made plans to go through Cub and Venezuela to eventually end up in Ecuador.

The U.S. government has charged the 30-year-old leaker with violating the Espionage Act and revoked his U.S. passport in an effort to bring him to the ground, according to the L.A. Times.

SEE ALSO: Edward Snowden Receives Help From WikiLeaks Towards Gaining Asylum In Ecuador

Amnesty International says that it is a "gray risk of human rights violations" if Snowden is returned to the states and ends up in the U.S. justice system.

From the L.A. Times:

"Administration officials remained confident that, despite not succeeding in having Snowden detained in Hong Kong, they will eventually catch their man. "The belt will tighten. We will get him," said one Department of Justice official, speaking anonymously because of the delicate matter of handling both a criminal case and an awkward game of multinational diplomacy."

“No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government," said senior Amnesty official Widney Brown.

Russian officials said they had no legal authority to send Snowden back to the U.S. and the Chinese government made the final decision to let Snowdwn flee to Russia.

Ecuador’s foreign minister said the government is “analyzing” Snowden’s asylum request and no decision has been made yet, according to Aljazeera.

"The chase is on," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

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