Venezuela bracing for US act of 'aggression'

AFP

Friday, January 01, 2010

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) -- Venezuela yesterday warned the US military against violating its airspace from bases in Aruba and Curacao, repeating recent accusations that Washington is preparing an act

of "aggression".

In a statement, Venezuela's foreign ministry called on the international community to condemn alleged incursions into its airspace by US military drones launched from Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

"(Venezuela) again calls on the international community to denounce the US use of the colonies of Aruba and Curacao, for the preparation of military aggression against Venezuela," the statement said.

"The subsequent violation of Venezuelan airspace on the part of the US military aircraft... allows us to conclude that the warmongering US government, in league with

the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is preparing an aggression against the territory and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

The ministry did not give details of the alleged incursions.

Earlier this month, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez charged that the US military was using the Dutch islands off his country's Caribbean coast as a staging area for a possible attack.

He also accused the United States of launching a spy plane from Colombia that he said violated his country's airspace, and vowed to shoot down any future such aircraft.

Chavez's allegations came amid tense ties between neighbors Colombia and Venezuela, after Washington and Bogota struck a deal allowing US forces to run counter-narcotics operations from Colombian bases.

Caracas suspended diplomatic relations with Colombia in July in response to the US-Colombian military base deal, denouncing it as a military threat to the sovereignty of Latin American countries and saying it paved the way for a possible attack against Venezuela.