Venezuela alleges US spy plane violated its airspace

Gen Padrino showed a map of the route the alleged US spy plane took

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Sunday that a US plane had violated the South American country's airspace.

Speaking on television, Gen Padrino said the plane had entered Venezuelan airspace near the Los Monjes archipelago on the Caribbean coast.

The general alleged that the plane belonged to the US Coast Guard.

But a US Coast Guard spokesman said none of their planes had been in the area at the time.

'Not ours'

"If there is an aircraft, it's not ours," Chief Warrant Officer Chad Saylor told Agence France Press news agency.

He also called the Venezuelan allegation "unfounded".

But Gen Padrino was adamant that the plane had "made circular search patterns and continued going southbound (...) violating Venezuelan airspace".

Ties between the United States and Venezuela have improved since reaching a low point in March 2015, when the US imposed sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights abuses.

However, Venezuela has repeatedly accused the US of meddling in its affairs.

Critics of the Venezuelan government say that officials are trying to stoke patriotic fervour ahead of legislative elections on 6 December.

President Nicolas Maduro said he would denounce what he called "unusual and extraordinary provocations" at the United Nations and other international bodies.

"Venezuela won't be cowed, Venezuela is standing up and building its own political, economic and social model, and no one should meddle with that," he said.