SkippedOnce
LE
Something that hasn't made the MSM; probably because the employers of those killed are conducting criminal activity. Still, shot down for failing to submit a flight plan certainly sends a message!
'In late September last year, Venezuela’s interior minister, Nestor Reverol, posted several photos to Twitter that showed the wreckage of an aircraft he said had been shot down just south of Lake Maracaibo in the country’s rural far west.
'Reverol stated that the “illicit aircraft” was detected by Venezuelan military radar and targeted in accordance with “defense protocols.” 'Venezuelan soldiers discovered the wreckage at an unpaved runway cut into the remote landscape two days later. Images showed piles of twisted metal and a few barrels of aviation fuel. Yet some intriguing clues remained, including a tail fin with a partially visible registration number, parts of the fuselage showing blue and gold livery stripes and distinctive winglets.
'The aircraft, Reverol stated, had been registered in the United States, a claim analyzed and confirmed by Bellingcat. What’s more, it appears to have been just the latest US registered aircraft to be shot down or destroyed in Venezuela in recent years.
'Research by Bellingcat – which includes an extensive review of social media posts, corporate filings, aircraft registration databases, ownership documents and local news coverage – shows that the Venezuelan armed forces appear to have destroyed at least 21 aircraft in the country since 2019. At least 12 of those were registered in the US, although the true number could be higher given the images of some planes analysed were so damaged it was not possible to identify them. According to the Venezuelan government, eight of these 12 US registered aircraft were involved in the drug trade, with the other four downed or otherwise destroyed for apparently failing to file a flight plan.'
A database detailing each aircraft can be found here.
'In late September last year, Venezuela’s interior minister, Nestor Reverol, posted several photos to Twitter that showed the wreckage of an aircraft he said had been shot down just south of Lake Maracaibo in the country’s rural far west.
'Reverol stated that the “illicit aircraft” was detected by Venezuelan military radar and targeted in accordance with “defense protocols.” 'Venezuelan soldiers discovered the wreckage at an unpaved runway cut into the remote landscape two days later. Images showed piles of twisted metal and a few barrels of aviation fuel. Yet some intriguing clues remained, including a tail fin with a partially visible registration number, parts of the fuselage showing blue and gold livery stripes and distinctive winglets.
'The aircraft, Reverol stated, had been registered in the United States, a claim analyzed and confirmed by Bellingcat. What’s more, it appears to have been just the latest US registered aircraft to be shot down or destroyed in Venezuela in recent years.
'Research by Bellingcat – which includes an extensive review of social media posts, corporate filings, aircraft registration databases, ownership documents and local news coverage – shows that the Venezuelan armed forces appear to have destroyed at least 21 aircraft in the country since 2019. At least 12 of those were registered in the US, although the true number could be higher given the images of some planes analysed were so damaged it was not possible to identify them. According to the Venezuelan government, eight of these 12 US registered aircraft were involved in the drug trade, with the other four downed or otherwise destroyed for apparently failing to file a flight plan.'
A database detailing each aircraft can be found here.
Flying High: The US Connection to Venezuela’s ‘Narco-Planes’ - bellingcat
Venezuela says it is shooting down and destroying "narco-planes" that have been registered in the US. But who owns these aircraft and what, if anything, can they tell us about the drug trade?
www.bellingcat.com