VENEZUELA MAKES ADDITIONAL CLAIMS OVER ALLEDGED AIRSPACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000033

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/12
TAGS: MOPS PREL CO VE OAS
SUBJECT: VENEZUELA MAKES ADDITIONAL CLAIMS OVER ALLEDGED AIRSPACE
VIOLATION

REF: 10CARACAS3; 10CARACAS29

CLASSIFIED BY: DUDDY, AMBASSADOR, DOS, AMB; REASON: 1.4(A),(D)


1. (C) Summary. In a nationally televised briefing the
evening of January 11, Venezuelan Vice President and Defense
Minister Ramon CarrizC!lez, flanked by two generals, provided
different information about the alleged January 8 U.S. incursion
into Venezuelan airspace than that provided just hours earlier by
Foreign Minister Maduro to Charge Caulfield (ref b). During
Carrizalez' briefing, General Colina identified Venezuela's Flight
Information Region (FIR) as sovereign airspace. End Summary.




2. (SBU) During a nationally televised press briefing the
evening of January 11, Venezuelan Vice President and Defense
Minister Ramon CarrizC!lez, flanked by Air Force General Alexis
Colina and Army General Carlos Mata Figueroa, claimed to have
"conclusive evidence" in support of President Chavez' January 8
claim of a U.S. military aircraft violating Venezuelan airspace
from Curacao. Noting the denial by Ambassador of The Netherlands
of any airspace violation, Carrizalez asserted that "we confirm and
demonstrate to the country and the world that incursions of our
airspace are occurring to provoke and to test our reaction and at
any moment to implement an aggression. For this reason, we
denounce, with proof in hand as we have been doing, the incursions
of warplanes dispatched from the island of Curacao."




3. (SBU) In the briefing, CarrizC!lez specifically claimed a
U.S. military aircraft violated Venezuelan airspace twice on
January 8 while an "AWACS" or USAF E-3 SENTRY was airborne, thus
proving it was not a navigational error because of the AWACS'
superior electronics and its mission of "directing" other aircraft.
Carrizalez also claimed that another U.S. warplane with the same
transponder code as the January 8 aircraft had requested permission
to enter Venezuelan airspace on January 11 but had been denied
entry by Venezuelan air traffic controllers. He also alleged that
there had been "at least 14 illegal entries into sovereign
Venezuelan airspace, but because of the lack of radar systems in
the past, they could not document them."




4. (SBU) General Colina showed a navigational chart
depicting the supposed air track of the alleged January 8 airspace
violation. Colina said the U.S. military aircraft "entered our
Flight Information Region (FIR),that is to say our sovereign
airspace control, by three or four miles" then withdrew. The
general claimed that the Venezuelan air traffic controller
contacted the Curacao Control Tower to inquire about the aircraft's
identify, but the response was ambiguous, at one point suggesting
that the plane might be a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft. Two
Venezuelan F-16 fighters were then mobilized from Barquisimento as
the aircraft made a second incursion of the FIR, flying three to
four miles inside their sovereign airspace but parallel to the FIR
boundary. The F-16s "intercepted" the aircraft and forced it to
depart Venezuelan airspace. Colina added that the two F-16s
conducted a combat air patrol off the coast of Venezuela to defend
the national sovereignty in case of a third intrusion.




5. (C) Carrizalez' briefing differed in several respects
from the information provided earlier in the day by Foreign
Minister Maduro to the Charge during their meeting and via
diplomatic note. Specifically, neither Maduro nor the diplomatic
note made any reference to the presence of AWACS. Second, the
route traced by Colina was not the "direct Curacao-Maiquetia route"
described in the diplomatic note. Lastly, the diplomatic note
alleged that communications had taken place between the aircraft
and the Venezuelan air traffic control, while Carrizalez only
claimed that conversations were held between the Venezuelan and
Curacao air traffic control towers.

CARACAS 00000033 002 OF 002



6. (C) Comment. Carrizalez again appeared as the Venezuelan
government's point person on this issue of U.S. violations of
Venezuelan airspace. On January 5, he claimed to have evidence
that the United States and The Netherlands were planning a military
operation against Venezuela from Curacao (ref a). In recent rumors
regarding a possible Cabinet shuffle, Carrizalez' position as Vice
President has been mentioned as being vulnerable. CarrizC!lez and
Colina are using the FIR and sovereign airspace as interchangeable
concepts to support their claims of U.S. "aggression." A complete
Flash video of the press conference is available at
http://www.vtv.gob.ve/noticias-nacionales/283 98.
CAULFIELD