The United States government on Monday stated that it respected the sovereignty of Venezuela and would probe into the alleged incursion of a US military aircraft into Venezuelan territory, in order to provide the relevant explanations.
 
"As a matter of the basics, we respect Venezuela’s sovereignty. And I am sure we will look into these allegations and provide them with an answer," Sean McCormack, US State Department Spokesman, said in his daily press conference.

When asked about the alleged violation of the Venezuelan airspace, McCormack replied, "We understand that a US military aircraft based in Curacao may have strayed inadvertently into Venezuelan airspace on May 17."

According to the US State Department Spokesman, "While conducting a counternarcotics mission in international airspace, the pilot realized that a navigation error had occurred. He contacted a Venezuelan tower to report the error, stating that he would immediately return to international airspace. The exchange was polite and professional."

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Nicolás Maduro, earlier on Monday reported a violation of the Venezuelan air space by a US Navy plane. He said he would summon US ambassador in Caracas Patrick Duddy to address the issue, reported Efe.
 
In this connection, McCormarck stated, "Venezuelan Foreign Minister (Nicolás) Maduro announced in a televised interview today that he would ask to see Ambassador Duddy on May 20. However, our Embassy in Caracas has received no diplomatic communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

US Navy officials are delving into the incident, in order to find out what really happened.