Venezuela slams illegal incursion of US aircraft

Caracas, Oct 3 (IANS) Venezuela's defence and foreign ministries denounced the illegal incursion of US combat aircraft.

The aircraft were "detected on October 2, 2025, approximately 75 kilometers from our coasts," said a statement by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil on social media.

For Venezuela, the move "constitutes a provocation that threatens national sovereignty," and violates international law and the Convention on International Civil Aviation, he said.

The maneuver "put at risk" the safety of aviation in the Caribbean Sea, the official said, adding that other incursions were detected, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez denounced the deployment of US aircraft and "the military harassment, the military threat, of the US government against the people of Venezuela who want peace, work and happiness."

Padrino said Thursday that Venezuela’s air defence system detected at least five US aircraft flying at 400 knots at 35,000 feet. In a joint statement with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry later said the “incursion” of the foreign planes happened Thursday, 75 kilometers from the Venezuelan coast. A plane from Colombia’s Avianca airline also witnessed the sorties, according to the authorities.

Padrino Lopez warned Washington against military attacks against the South American nation. "Don't make that mistake," he said.

The construction of the suspected flyovers marks the latest escalation in tensions between the two nations, following the deployment of US warships to the southern Caribbean, officially aimed at curbing cocaine trafficking. In recent weeks, US strikes on small boats, allegedly involved in smuggling drugs from Venezuela, have resulted in at least 14 deaths.

--IANS

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