Before dawn on Monday, a Boeing 747 aircraft owned by Southern Aerocargo Transport Company (EMTRASUR), a subsidiary of the Venezuelan airline CONVIASA, was stolen from the Ezeiza airport in Argentina and piloted to Miami.
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This happened as a result of Argentine President Javier Milei's administration allowing the United States to seize the aircraft in violation of international regimes and law. In response to this fact, the Venezuelan state issued a statement that is reproduced below:
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the blatant theft of the Boeing 747-300 aircraft, registration YV 3531, belonging to the Southern Aerocargo Transport Company, carried out today following collusion between the governments of the United States and Argentina, which have deceitfully violated all regulations governing civil aviation, as well as the commercial, civil, and political rights of the said company, jeopardizing aviation security in the region.
This shameful act of plundering adds to the list of criminal aggressions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which have been perpetrated for over a decade by the U.S., including the seizure of assets such as the CITGO company, and the imposition of over 930 illegal sanctions, in collusion with the extreme right-wing opposition acting as direct agents of the American empire against Venezuela.
Free and sovereign Venezuela will provide a strong, direct, and proportionate response to this attack, utilizing all available resources within the framework of the Constitution, diplomacy, and international law.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces, before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the violation by both aforementioned governments of the international regulations to which states are obliged regarding air navigation, creating a serious situation of unprecedented legal and operational insecurity in our region.
Among the crimes committed, there has been observed the withholding of information when identifying the flight, turning off the transponder on various segments of the route, and other actions that must be independently investigated.
The Venezuelan state will take all necessary actions to restore justice and achieve the return of the aircraft to its rightful owner.
No empire, nor its lackey satellites, will be able to break the will of the Venezuelan people, who have chosen to pursue the path of true independence and are forging their way towards political, economic, and social prosperity, as has been demonstrated to the world in recent years."