Aruba authorities denied confiscation of a plane in their territory, with Venezuelan gold, as some media outlets spread.
As noted by the Prime Minister of Aruba, Evelyn Wever-Croes, the permanence of a plane loaded with Venezuelan gold has not been confirmed on the island.
Venezuelan plane busted in Aruba with almost a ton of gold, packed in luxury luggage, intended for an airstrip in Mexico and then shipment on a larger plane to the Middle East. 1/2 https://t.co/xFS4T4i00a
— Alberto Miguel Fernandez (@AlbertoMiguelF5) February 17, 2020
Aruba media reported on Monday morning that the information published by Venezuelan portals, which ensured the presence of a plane with false records and loaded with Venezuelan gold had landed emergency on the island, was a “fake news” .
The portal El Diario de Aruba ensures that there is no reliable information to ratify the complaint that was a trend this Sunday afternoon, since the report referred to does not show specific data on when the incident occurred.
The Aruba authorities indicated that there are no records at the airport of an emergency landing made by such a plane.
The story, which has already been reported around the world, relates how the Venezuelan aircraft was detained after an emergency landing in Aruba by the authorities of the Queen Beatrix Airport. It adds, moreover, that the air terminal administration confiscated the cargo that the plane was carrying: 932 kilos of gold, almost a ton, packed in luxury suitcases.
It also adds that three Venezuelan crew members were arrested in the operation and that, after the interrogation process, they would be extradited to the United States.
Andin Bikker, representing the government of Aruba, denied this information categorically on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the island, assuring that “the story is fictitious, it is not based on a real fact.
“We will not confirm a story that never happened,” added Aruba’s director of civil aviation Edwin Kelly.
Unfortunately, so many media outlets have echoed this rumor, without even confirming the information with our local media or Aruban authorities,” Bikker said.
Among the more than 20 sites that spread the false news are Diario de las Américas, Infobae, El Español, among others.
