Venezuela shoots down two planes allegedly carrying drugs
From Caribbean360
CARACAS, Venezuela, Monday October 28, 2013 – Authorities in Venezuela say that two light aircraft, reportedly smuggling drugs, have been shot down after entering the country’s airspace.
According to the Bolivarian Armed Forces, these were the first mid-air attacks by fighter jets since a bill authorising such action against illegal planes was approved earlier this month.
The two planes were allegedly transporting drugs from Central America, and the action was said to have been taken after they refused to follow the orders of the military pilots.
Venezuela’s strategic operational centre chief, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, told state television that a plane had been targeted “after all other means of persuasion had been exhausted”.
“This was the first plane shot mid-air in the country since the approval of the law and control regulation for the integral defence of the national airspace, following the orders of our commander-in-chief President Nicolas Maduro,” General Padrino said.
A second light aircraft was also shot down after allegedly trying to evade the authorities by attempting to land on an illegal airstrip in the jungle.
After posting a photograph of the destroyed plane on Twitter, the head of the national anti-drugs agency, Alejandro Keleris Bucarito, said: “These are drug trafficking mafias which intend to use our country as a platform for drug distribution, trespassing our airspace.”
The latest developments come in the wake of a public warning issued to drug smugglers by President Nicolas Maduro.
Earlier this month, after the approval of the airspace bill, the president threatened “international narco-traffickers”
“Any plane entering Venezuela is going to be obliged to land in peace. If not, it will be brought down by our Sukhoi jets, our F-16s and by all of the Venezuelan military aviation,” Maduro said.
Another 11 unauthorised planes have been disabled on the ground this year, and Venezuelan security forces say more than 35 tonnes of drugs have been found
PHOTO: The head of the country’s strategic operational centre said the aircraft had been targeted “after all other means of persuasion had been exhausted”. (Credit: laht.com)
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