Venezuelan military shot down an American plane on suspicions of drug trafficking

By TOC On Sep 16, 2020

CARACAS, (BM) – Venezuela again shot down a plane with a US registration number on suspicions of drug trafficking, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Gazeta.ru. The Venezuelan military has permission to carry out such actions. Caracas and Washington regularly charge each other with drug trafficking charges.

Venezuelan troops shot down a small plane with a US registration number. The plane is believed to have belonged to drug traffickers, Bolivarian Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Twitter. A photograph of the downed plane is attached to the post.

Reverol stressed that the Venezuelan military is constantly monitoring its airspace to prevent it from being used for drug trafficking from Colombia, “the world’s largest cocaine producer.”

The military detected the aircraft using radar. According to the minister, “an aircraft with a US registration number used for drug smuggling has illegally entered Venezuelan airspace in the Zulia region.”

A similar incident happened in early July this year. The Venezuelan army shot down an American plane that Caracas claims was used to transport drugs and entered the country’s airspace illegally, the Venezuelan Armed Forces Strategic Operations Command (CEOFANB) reported on Twitter.

According to CEOFANB, the incident occurred on the night of July 8th. “As soon as the protocol stipulated by the law was fulfilled, the aircraft of our air force began to neutralize the vessel,” the command wrote.

In which specific area the plane was shot down was not specified. It is also not known how many illegal substances they tried to transport with it.

Attached to the publication were photographs of the wrecked ship on fire, on the keel of which the number N339AV is visible. According to the Flightradar service, we are talking about a Hawker 800 aircraft – it belongs to a private person. The cost of such an aircraft in the secondary market is on average $ 2 million, the carrying capacity is 900 kg.

It is reported that the aircraft was on a registered flight in Mexico from the central state of Toluca to Cozumel Island off the coast of Quintana Roo.

In 2013, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro approved a legislative provision that allows shooting down any drug mafia plane that illegally flies over the country’s territory. Former President Hugo Chavez also proposed to develop such a bill. Subsequently, the document was approved by the Venezuelan parliament.

Under this law, Caracas regularly shoot down planes that are used for the illegal drug trade.

Once again, a similar incident occurred on April 7, 2019. CEOFANB shot down an aircraft that was trying to use the airspace of Zulia, the command said on Twitter. It was possible to find the board thanks to the Integrated Air Command (CODAI).

Similar incidents have occurred more than once in the past year. For example, on November 27, the armed forces of Venezuela once again shot down a plane, according to Caracas, with drugs, trying to cross the country’s airspace. This incident was the third in a month: the two previous ones occurred on November 17 and 19.

An anti-drug policy is being pursued by the United States against Venezuela itself. The US Justice Department accused Maduro and 14 other leaders of the country of involvement in drug trafficking, and the State Department announced an award for Maduro in $ 15 million. Attorney General William Barr drew attention to the fact that Washington does not consider him the president of Venezuela. Barr likened Maduro to former Panama leader Manuel Noriega, who was overthrown by the Americans in 1989 in a military invasion following drug trafficking charges.

The head of the Bolivarian Republic called the threats of the United States the actions of the times of the Wild West. He assured that in case of aggression from Washington, the military and the people will stand up for him. Maduro also denied drug trafficking charges on the American side.

According to him, Venezuela has been holding the record for combating drug trafficking for 15 years. In turn, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreasa called the accusations against the leadership of the Bolivarian Republic “a new form of coup.” According to him, Washington’s actions have an internal political background.

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