CARACAS, (Reuters) – A suspicious civilian plane being pursued by Venezuela’s military has come down in Aruba’s Caribbean waters, the island’s justice minister said yesterday. There appeared to be casualties and evidence of drug-trafficking, Arthur Dowers told Reuters by telephone.
“We have been informed this morning that a plane came down in the territorial waters of Aruba,” Dowers said.
“We have seen what looks like human remains … large packages that looked like drugs. We do have information that indicates this plane was followed by Venezuelan authorities.”
The Venezuelan government, which operates a shootdown policy against suspected drug planes in its territory, had no immediate comment on the incident.
Aruba, a semi-autonomous island that is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, lies just north of Venezuela which is a major shipment route for Colombian cocaine.
