US plane was 'intercepted' by Venezuelan aircraft: Defense minister
Venezuela said it had "intercepted" a US military plane, two days before Washington accused a Venezuelan fighter aircraft of "aggressively" shadowing a US Navy EP-3 Aries II plane over international airspace, a fresh sign of growing hostility between the two countries.
On Friday (July 19), the day the encounter occurred, Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said that the US airplane had been "intercepted" within the Flight Information Region of Venezuela's Exclusive Economic Zone.
The two planes did not collide and no one was hurt in the incident.
The US military did not give details of the EP-3's mission nor say where the encounter took place. Padrino said the US aircraft had "radio-electronic reconnaissance" and "anti-submarine warfare capabilities."
US President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly used sanctions in an effort to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election has been deemed illegitimate by the United States and most Western nations.
Maduro has retained the backing of Venezuela's military and other institutions, as well as China, Russia and Cuba.
(Source: Reuters)
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