Venezuela's Air Force Downs Unidentified US Plane

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) The Strategic Command Operations of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (CEOFANB) said on Wednesday it had "neutralized" an aircraft with a US serial identification number as it violated the country's airspace.

"CEOFANB reports that the United Aerospace Defense Command detected an aircraft with a US hull number intruding the Venezuelan airspace overnight July 8 and neutralized it with military jets according to protocols," the military said on Twitter.

Attached to the post were images of the downed plane on fire. One could read serial number N339AV on its tail.

According to Flightradar, it was a privately-owned Hawker 800 plane. Its latest registered flight route was in Mexico, from the central Toluca state to the Cozumel island in the Caribbean.

There were no official details at this point on the incident's location and the plane's passengers and cargo, but such episodes are typical of illegal drug trafficking. A similar plane was downed by the Venezuelan military last month for purportedly carrying drugs.

In 2013, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signed a law to down any plane belonging to narco-mafia that illegally crosses the country's airspace.