VENEZUELANS DENY AIR SPACE TO U.S. ANTI-DRUG PLANES

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's foreign minister on Wednesday said his
government would not reverse its decision to deny Venezuelan air space to
U.S. anti-drug planes.

"We work intensely in the fight against drugs, but we don't necessarily
share all the ideas that the United States has about the topic," Jose
Vicente Rangel told reporters.

Citing "national sovereignty," Venezuela has refused a U.S. request to use
its airspace for anti-narcotics flights from three new staging centers being
set up in Ecuador and the Dutch islands of Curacao and Aruba.

On Tuesday, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Charles Wilhelm,
told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that "it is imperative that we
come to closure with Venezuela on counterdrug cooperation. Otherwise, our
efforts throughout the region will suffer in terms of efficiency and
effectiveness."

Venezuela is a key transit point for Colombian cocaine en route to the
United States and Europe.
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