Venezuelan authorities have detained two individuals following an emergency landing of an unauthorized aircraft in the Bolívar state, a region bordering Brazil. The incident underscores heightened scrutiny of airspace security and potential illicit trafficking activities along Venezuela’s borders [[1]]. The event comes amid increased regional attention on Venezuelan airspace, including recent reports of military overflights [[2]] and counter-narcotics operations.
Venezuelan armed forces have detained a Colombian and a Venezuelan national after an unauthorized aircraft made an emergency landing in the southern state of Bolívar, which borders Brazil. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about airspace security and potential illicit activities in the region.
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Strategic Operational Commander Domingo Hernández Lárez announced the detentions on his Telegram account.
The individuals have been identified as Andrés Guillermo Carvajal Díaz, a Colombian citizen, and Jesús Alberto Espinoza Arrizaga, a Venezuelan national.
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Detenidos en operación en Venezuela Photo:Courtesy
According to Hernández Lárez, the two men are pilots who “flagrantly breached and invaded” Venezuelan airspace, violating national sovereignty and contravening the country’s defense laws.
The aircraft, a Cessna 210, was flying at a low altitude and lacked a transponder – a device that responds to radar signals – as well as formal geolocation instruments, officials said. The plane’s registration was listed as XB-NQJ.
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The aircraft made an emergency landing on a runway in a community inhabited by indigenous people in the Gran Sabana municipality, where the pilots were intercepted, apprehended, and turned over to the relevant authorities.
Venezuelan authorities subsequently “disabled” the aircraft, noting modifications to the co-pilot’s door, including a cargo launch device, and internal fuel tanks designed to extend its range. Hernández Lárez indicated that these features suggest the plane was equipped for the illicit trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances.
What did Venezuelan authorities seize in the operation?
Authorities confiscated three GPS devices, an Iridium 9555N satellite phone, 18,590,000 Colombian pesos (approximately $4,900 USD), four cell phones, and a VHF Icom radio.
Hernández Lárez stated that Venezuela has destroyed 26 aircraft in 2025, bringing the total to 417.
Detenida en Venezuela Photo:Courtesy
In a separate operation, part of the Venezuelan armed forces’ ‘Neblina 2025’ anti-drug campaign, two Colombian women were detained in Amazonas state.
Colombianos presos en Venezuela Photo:Courtesy
The women, identified as Roxana Elena Morales Maestre, 36, and Mariana Paola Chaparro Medina, 18, were found in a mining camp and had mining equipment seized near the indigenous community of Carida.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
(*) With information from Efe
