“US plans military aggression against Venezuela”

02 January, 2010, 11:57

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry has accused the US of plotting a military aggression from the nearby Dutch islands of Aruba and Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast.

The Foreign Ministry’s official statement says recurrent violations of Venezuela’s air space by American military planes is “irrefutable” proof that the United States, supported by the Netherlands, is planning and aggression against Venezuela.

Officials in Caracas doubt that the US is using military bases on Aruba and Curacao only for fighting drug trafficking. At the same time, Venezuela does not give any specific details concerning the alleged violations.

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A spokesman for the US Defense Department's Southern Command in Miami, Stephen Lucas, denied the allegations, AP reports. He said a US Navy plane accidentally strayed into Venezuelan airspace on a counter-drug mission seven months ago, but he noted “that is an anomaly, not standard operating procedure.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly accused US authorities of planning a coup against him or invading his country. The US has always denied the claims.