A member of the Venezuelan parliament, Roy Daza, wants the Netherlands to account for a US Airforce flight from the Netherlands Antilles. MPs in Caracas studied recordings made by the control tower of Maiquetía airport, which allegedly confirm that a US plane violated Venezuelan airspace in May last year.

A conversation between a US Airforce pilot and the control tower is heard in the recordings. Last year when Venezuela raised the matter, the Netherlands brushed aside the accusation of involvement, and the US declined to comment.

Attack on Venezuela
The parliament agrees with President Hugo Chávez' view that the US is preparing a military attack on Venezuela using airbases on the Netherlands Antilles islands of Aruba and Curaçao, which are located off the continent's northern coastline.

The Netherlands has told Venezuela that the US Airforce activities based on the islands are part of the war on drugs. Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen referred to Mr Chávez' accusations as "incorrect, not based on facts and really unfounded".

Curaçao's Hato Airport (Photo: Wikimedia commons/Alex)