MEXICO CITY, November 4 (RIA Novosti) — Venezuelan air defense forces have downed a suspected drug mafia plane over the western state of Apure on the border with Colombia, the country's Defense Minister, Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said early Tuesday on his Twitter account.
Gen. Lopez posted a photo of the downed aircraft, saying "It is the wreckage of a King-200 type plane that trespassed into our airspace and was shot down by the personnel of the strategic command of the Bolivarian Armed Forces southeast of Elorza, in the Apure state," he wrote.
Restos de avión tipo King 200 que violó nuestro espacio aéreo, inutilizado por @ceofanb al Sureste de Elorza, Apure. pic.twitter.com/aNdsWRXqST
— Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) November 4, 2014
The minister did not shed light on the fate of the plan's crew.
In 2013, President Nicolas Maduro unveiled a law that allowed Venezuelan air defense forces to down planes that belong to Colombian drug traffickers if they attempt to cross into the country's territory. The legislation was first proposed by then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and cleared the parliament last year.
