Post by scumbuster on Sept 22, 2016 5:51:30 GMT -5
Venezuela Claim that US Plane Entered Airspace "Baseless", US Says (VIDEO)
CARACAS -- The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Southern Command on Wednesday denied Venezuela's allegations that a U.S. Coast Guard plane had entered Venezuela airspace and was spying on the Non-Aligned Summit.
"U.S. aircraft did not enter Venezuelan airspace on September 16," the State Department said, answering an information request from the Latin American Herald Tribune.
In the same communication, the U.S. Southern Command elaborated further.
"On 16 September, a U.S. (military/civilian) DH-8 was conducting a counter-narcotics detection and monitoring mission over Caribbean international waters. The aircraft remained in international airspace throughout its entire mission and did not violate the sovereign airspace of any nation in the region. Any claims to the contrary are baseless and without merit. U.S.-led counter-narcotics missions are conducted with the highest respect for the sovereignty of the nations in the region."
The only listed operator of DH-8, a Canadian-made plane also known as the Dash-8, is "AMO", a division of Homeland Security that flies anti-terror and narcotics interdiction sorties, and classifies as military/civilian. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino however said the U.S. plane that entered Venezuelan airspace on September 16th was being operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Venezuela has become a hub for drug-trafficking activity in recent years. The country stopped cooperating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 1999 and cut ties in 2005, according to Interior Minister Nestor Reverol. A January 2015 drug-trafficking indictment against Reverol was unsealed last month when he was out of office, having been replaced as head of Venezuela's National Guard the month before. The day after the U.S. indictment was unsealed, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro immediately named Reverol as head of the Interior and Justice Ministry, in charge of all the courts and police forces in the country.
Maduro's wife's nephews are also on trial in New York for drug trafficking. At a trial hearing earlier this month, it was revealed that Maduro's wife's brother had a primary role in helping to set up the drug trafficking meeting.
Venezuela and the U.S. have been at loggerheads since Hugo Chavez was first elected president and diplomatic relationships have deteriorated so much that each country has no ambassadorial representation to the other.
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2421455&CategoryId=10717
CARACAS -- The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Southern Command on Wednesday denied Venezuela's allegations that a U.S. Coast Guard plane had entered Venezuela airspace and was spying on the Non-Aligned Summit.
"U.S. aircraft did not enter Venezuelan airspace on September 16," the State Department said, answering an information request from the Latin American Herald Tribune.
In the same communication, the U.S. Southern Command elaborated further.
"On 16 September, a U.S. (military/civilian) DH-8 was conducting a counter-narcotics detection and monitoring mission over Caribbean international waters. The aircraft remained in international airspace throughout its entire mission and did not violate the sovereign airspace of any nation in the region. Any claims to the contrary are baseless and without merit. U.S.-led counter-narcotics missions are conducted with the highest respect for the sovereignty of the nations in the region."
The only listed operator of DH-8, a Canadian-made plane also known as the Dash-8, is "AMO", a division of Homeland Security that flies anti-terror and narcotics interdiction sorties, and classifies as military/civilian. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino however said the U.S. plane that entered Venezuelan airspace on September 16th was being operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Venezuela has become a hub for drug-trafficking activity in recent years. The country stopped cooperating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 1999 and cut ties in 2005, according to Interior Minister Nestor Reverol. A January 2015 drug-trafficking indictment against Reverol was unsealed last month when he was out of office, having been replaced as head of Venezuela's National Guard the month before. The day after the U.S. indictment was unsealed, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro immediately named Reverol as head of the Interior and Justice Ministry, in charge of all the courts and police forces in the country.
Maduro's wife's nephews are also on trial in New York for drug trafficking. At a trial hearing earlier this month, it was revealed that Maduro's wife's brother had a primary role in helping to set up the drug trafficking meeting.
Venezuela and the U.S. have been at loggerheads since Hugo Chavez was first elected president and diplomatic relationships have deteriorated so much that each country has no ambassadorial representation to the other.
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2421455&CategoryId=10717