Venezuelan Military Says Detected, Shot Down Drug-Trafficking Plane

The command of the Venezuelan armed forces said on Wednesday that it had detected and shot down a plane carrying drugs as it attempted to enter the country's airspace

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) The command of the Venezuelan armed forces said on Wednesday that it had detected and shot down a plane carrying drugs as it attempted to enter the country's airspace.

"The Strategic Command of the Venezuelan armed forces detected and neutralized an aircraft carrying illegal substances ... and intended to violate the country's airspace," the military said on Twitter.

This is the third instance when a drug-loaded plane has attempted to smuggle illegal cargo to Venezuela in November. They first two were detected on November 17 and November 19. Another two planes carrying drugs, presumably from Colombia, were shot down by the Venezuelan military in August.

In 2013, President Nicholas Maduro signed a law that allowed Venezuelan air defense forces to shoot down any planes belonging to drug traffickers if they attempt to cross into the country's territory. Despite the legislation, the narcotrafficking in Venezuela continued booming and became so lucrative that Venezuelan smugglers reportedly burned their planes delivering cocaine from Colombia to the United States after using them once.

In November, Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei called Venezuela a "narco-state" and said that much of the region's insecurity came from the drug trafficking.