CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela claims a U.S. Coast Guard plane it describes as an intelligence aircraft violated the South American country’s airspace.
Defence minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Sunday the aircraft flew out of Curacao, a Dutch island not far off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. He said the plane was detected over the Venezuelan archipelago of Los Monjes on Friday, but gave no evidence to support his claim.
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In comments on the state channel Telesur, Padrino said other U.S. aircraft had flown close to Venezuela in recent days without offering any specifics.
The U.S. has drug interdiction planes based in Curacao.
Relations between Venezuela’s socialist government and the United States have been strained for years. Earlier this year, Washington sanctioned several senior Venezuelan officials accused of violating human rights of government opponents.
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