Venezuela Rejects US ‘Spy Balloon’ Handling (+Defense Minister)

This Sunday, February 5, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejected the United States response towards the unmanned civilian aircraft of Chinese origin that entered its airspace.

The information was released by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil, who, through his social media accounts, wrote that controversies or differences must be resolved “responsibly and in accordance with International Law.”

The US Defense Secretary accused China on Thursday of the overflight of a so-called spy balloon on its territory. On Saturday, he confirmed that the Chinese balloon had been brought down by a missile fired from a US warplane in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the state of South Carolina.

“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the attack by the United States against a unmanned civil aircraft of Chinese origin. All disputes must be resolved responsibly and in accordance with International Law,” the top diplomat wrote.

El Gobierno de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela rechaza el ataque de los Estados Unidos contra una aeronave de origen chino no tripulada de naturaleza civil. Toda controversia debe ser resuelta de manera responsable y apegada al Derecho Internacional pic.twitter.com/HheeRUyIKj
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) February 5, 2023

In the statement, Venezuela ratifies its strict adherence to dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and healthy coexistence among peoples.

Aircraft posed no threat
This Friday, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the entry of the unmanned civil aircraft into the United States airspace “was entirely unexpected and due to force majeure.”

The Chinese authorities stated that the civil aircraft “is used for research purposes, mainly meteorological, and was affected by westerly winds and its limited self-driving ability, which caused it to drift away from its planned course.”

I Don’t Want to #StopAsianHate. I Want to End US Imperialism

It was learned that the spokesman for the US Department of Defense also indicated that the aircraft did not represent a military or physical threat to people on the ground.

Beijing has described the shooting down as an “exaggerated reaction” and communicated a “strong protest against the US reaction,” making it clear that it reserves the right to use the necessary means to resolve this type of situation.

Communiqué from Venezuela
An unofficial translation of the full text of the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, can be read below:

The Government of the Republic of Venezuela rejects the attack by the United States against an unmanned aircraft of civilian nature that had shown a technical failure and that did not represent any military or physical threat against people on the ground. Once again, the United States resorts to the use of force instead of treating this situation with the seriousness and responsibility that the case deserves.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, committed to the values of the United Nations Charter and Peace Diplomacy, ratifies its strict adherence to dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and healthy coexistence among nations and peoples.

Caracas, February 5, 2023.

US Military Denounced for Violation of Venezuela’s Airspace

Venezuelan Defense Minister: US cynicism
The Venezuelan Defense Minister dismisses the US shooting down of the Chinese meteorological balloon as cynicism, under alleged allegations of violation of its airspace.

“The US is talking about respecting airspace? Venezuela has witnessed the systematic provocation and violation of our sovereignty by US air and sea means, forcing us to intercept and expel them. What cynicism!” Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López wrote on Twitter, while attaching the official communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

¿Los EE.UU. hablando de respeto de su espacio aéreo? Venezuela ha sido testigo de la sistemática provocación y violación de nuestra soberanía por medios aéreos y marítimos norteamericanos, viéndonos obligados a interceptarlos y expulsarlos ¡QUÉ CINISMO! https://t.co/NduqpTwXeb
— Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) February 5, 2023

Many social media platforms have taken stock of the incident and its over-dimensioning by US officials and mainstream media, as an opportunity to mock the mainstream’s capacity for taking the lack of intelligence of the US public for granted.