MAJOR: Venezuelan Military Shoots Down Cocaine-Loaded US Plane

“After the illegal air unit was detected by the radars of the Comprehensive Aerospace Defense Command, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces activated all protocols established in the Control Law for the Comprehensive Defense of Airspace,” Reverol tweeted, referring to a 2013 law authorising the destruction of any suspected cartel plane operating in Venezuelan airspace.

“We remain on permanent alert, monitoring our airspace to prevent itrom being used for illicit drug traffickingrom Colombia, which is the largest producer of cocaine in the world,” Reverol added, in a possible reference to the plane’s cargo.

Tuesday’s incident was the second since July 8, when another plane with a US registration number was destroyed by fighter jets while intruding into Venezuelan airspace. A month before that, another drug-laden private aircraft was destroyed by the military.

Venezuela’s military is equipped with some of the latest Russian military equipment, including the S-300 air defense system, which features long-range radar, as well as Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, which complement the US\and European equipment the country bought before Washington put embargoes on military-related equipment to Caracas in the 2000s.

Venezuela has been a popular route for Colombian drug traffickers going back to the 1970s. In recent years, however, the country has stepped up its efforts to combat drug smuggling through its territory, while simultaneously cutting off relations with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over suspected espionage activities unrelated to combating drug smuggling.

Despite Caracas’s efforts to combat narcotics smuggling, Washington has accused Venezuela of “not doing enough” to deal with the problem\and has even claimed that high-ranking Venezuelan officials are engaged in the operation of a ‘narco-terrorist’ cartel operation themselves. Venezuelan officials have blasted their US counterparts over these claims.