Venezuela Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López denounced on Thursday the “military harassment” by “United States combat aircraft” that, he said, flew over the Venezuelan coasts in the Caribbean Sea. Donald Trump’s government maintains an important Naval deployment in the area to combat drug traffickingoperation that Caracas considers a “threat”.
“I denounce the world military harassment, military threat of the United States government over the people of Venezuela (…); I denounce this situation that, I repeat, is still a provocation, but also a threat to our national security, “said Padrino López in a transmission of the VTV state channel.
The minister indicated that the country’s integrated air system detected “Combat aircraft” Americans, a fact that he said was “Verified and verified” even for an international airline that reported the presence of aircraft to the control tower of the Maiquetía airport.
“We had never seen this airplane deployment. We know they are parked in Puerto Rico, class F-35but dare to approach Venezuelan territory (…) We are seeing them, I want them to know. And I want them to know that It does not intimidate us“The official warned.
“More than five vectors” detected
Padrino López explained that the presence of “More than five vectors” with “400 knots flight characteristics and flying at a height of 35,000 feet”.
The minister recalled that in September he had already denounced that the US makes flights of “intelligence” against Venezuela, with the aim of justifying a “Military and intervention threat plan” to “displace President Nicolás Maduro.”
He said that intelligence operations in the Caribbean, traditionally daytime, have passed to a night and morning pattern, and that in August “They tripled intelligence and exploration operations against Venezuela”.
The United States maintains a significant deployment in the Caribbean Sea, which includes at least Eight warshipsa rapid nuclear propulsion attack submarine, more than 4,500 soldiersand the fighters F-35b In Puerto Rico.
