Venezuela authorities confirmed Friday that a small civilian plane believed to be carrying cocaine was shot down over the Caribbean Sea.
Human remains and cocaine packages were found floating in the water after the plane was downed off the coast of Aruba, Reuters reported.
Venezuelan defense officials said the unauthorized aircraft, which originated in Central America, landed in the state of Apure and ignored orders when it took off again.
"It didn't obey orders and it was annulled 25 nautical miles northeast of the Josefa Camejo (military) base, that is to say, in our territorial waters," Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said. "Some are saying we violated international air space. No. All military actions are taken in our geographical space to exercise sovereignty and independence under the constitution."
Venezuela has a long-standing policy of shooting down planes suspected of drug activity, with its airspace being a favorite route used by traffickers delivering cocaine between bordering Columbia and the U.S. and Europe, the Associated Press reported.
Information on the victims were not immediately available. Officials in Aruba, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said it's too early to confirm who the passangers were or how many people were onboard, the AP reported.
The downed aircraft was registered in the U.S.
