WASHINGTON, July 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Venezuelan fighter jet “aggressively shadowed” an American intelligence plane over the Caribbean Sea, US defence officials said, slamming the manoeuvre as “unprofessional.”
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said the Russian-made Venezuelan SU-30 “Flanker” took off from an airfield 320 kilometres east of Caracas on Friday, following a US EP-3 at an “unsafe distance … jeopardising the crew and aircraft.”
“The EP-3 aircraft, flying a mission in approved international airspace, was approached in an unprofessional manner by the SU-30 … The US routinely conducts multi-nationally recognised and approved detection and monitoring missions in the region to ensure the safety and security of our citizens and those of our partners,” it added.
SOUTHCOM said in a separate post on Twitter the action demonstrated Russia’s “irresponsible military support” to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “illegitimate regime.”
It also revealed Maduro’s “recklessness & irresponsible behaviour, which undermines int’l rule of law & efforts to counter illicit trafficking,” it added.
The US has accused Russia of propping up Maduro by supplying military aircraft including the SU-30.
In response, Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez says the U.S. plane entered Venezuelan airspace without prior notification.
He says it also endangered commercial flights from Venezuela’s main airport. — NNN-AGENCIES
