Spanish
Caracas.- The Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) of Venezuela announced this Wednesday that it destroyed aircraft number 40 linked to drug trafficking during a year-end operation in the state of Apure (southwest), bordering Colombia, and assured that it intended to "violate territorial sovereignty".
The FANB dealt "a new blow to the drug trafficking structures," said the Strategic Operational Command of the military force in a post on Instagram that was accompanied by a video in which a white light aircraft is observed parked in a wooded area on land.You may be interested in: devaluacion-moneda-Venezuela-2
As explained in the publication, the aircraft was detected "through reconnaissance and patrol work in the Pedro Camejo municipality" of Apure by the Integral Aerospace Defense System, which declared it "hostile" because it lacked "transponder systems and official permits". Therefore, the military proceeded to its total destruction on the ground "to neutralize its use by groups generating violence". "Venezuela reaches the figure of 40 aircraft disabled so far in the year 2025", the message added. Venezuela has intensified its defense after the United States ordered an air-naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea last August, near Venezuelan waters, under the argument of combating drug trafficking, but which Caracas interprets as a "threat" and an attempt to bring about a regime change. The Donald Trump administration, which does not recognize the legitimacy of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, accuses him of leading an alleged group it calls the Cartel of the Suns, although Caracas claims it is a "fabrication". On Monday, the Chavista leader affirmed that the FANB is "always vigilant" and assured that Venezuela "has an exemplary model" in the fight against crime, against criminal gangs and drug trafficking by "land, air and sea".
