Explosion of a Colombian narco-jet shot down by the Venezuelan army. Photo: Twitter/@dhernandezlarez.
The Venezuelan Armed Force recently shot down another plane which had trespassed into the region bordering Colombia, making it the 22nd of the year and the fourth in the last 11 days.
The head of the Strategic Operational Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (CEOFANB), Domingo Hernández Lárez, reported on Twitter this Sunday, July 24, that the country’s military had detected an “invading aircraft” which was “in flagrant violation of Venezuelan airspace and infringing all kinds of international standards and conventions.”
Hernández noted that the invading plane, “the 22nd in 2022 and the 300th since 2012” had been “disabled” by the Venezuelan National Bolivarian Armed Force (FANB) “in the exercise of sovereignty,” since it entered “without permits” and without having an identification code, or any operational tracking system.
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“The FANB will guarantee the integrity of our sovereign airspace by defending it militarily,” wrote the commander in a post in which he included a video and several images of the plane crashing into a wooded area.
Inutilizado avión invasor número 22 del año 2022 y 300 desde el 2012. La FANB garantizará la integridad de nuestro espacio soberano mediante la defensa militar. pic.twitter.com/jI0EuUB6pF
— GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez (@dhernandezlarez) July 24, 2022
The Venezuelan Armed Forces are on high alert, monitoring the illegal entry into its airspace of aircraft used by Colombian groups dedicated to drug trafficking.
In the last 11 days, FANB has warned of the destruction of three other planes in the State of Apure, bordering Colombia, where the authorities are engaged in security operations against the so-called TANCOL (Colombian Armed Drug Trafficking Terrorists).
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Avión invasor detectado en flagrancia violando el espacio aéreo venezolano e infringiendo todo tipo de normas y convenios internacionales, sin permisos, sin señales de llamada y sin identificación. FANB en ejercicio de la soberanía llega
al avión inutilizado nro. 22 del año 2022. pic.twitter.com/DT6TvLQkrn— GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez (@dhernandezlarez) July 24, 2022
On June 2, Hernández, accompanied by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, reported that in the first five months of 2022, as many as 257 “structures” used for drug trafficking and terrorism had been destroyed on the border with Colombia. These operations continue up to today to contain and have expelled numerous paramilitary and narco-terrorist groups that have been trying to expand their operations into Venezuela for years.
Nuestra FANB en despliegue permanente y sostenido en operaciones de inserción y barrido, dando resultados en la destrucción de instalaciones y actividades TANCOL en nuestro eje transfronterizo. Operación Escudo Bolivariano 2022 !!! pic.twitter.com/gV6O5q7Yi7
— GJ. Domingo Hernández Lárez (@dhernandezlarez) July 25, 2022
Authorities in Caracas have accused the Colombian Government of Iván Duque of training “mercenaries and terrorists” and ordering them to enter Venezuela in order to disrupt the security of their neighboring country and to overthrow the government of Maduro. Given the gravity of these incursions, Maduro has responded by developing a special operation in the area to eliminate these threats and to defend the sovereignty of his country.
(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/KW/EF
