US denies any plane entered Venezuelan airspace

(AP) — The United States is denying a claim by President Hugo Chavez that a U.S. military plane entered Venezuelan airspace.

Chavez said the plane was met by his military's F-16s and escorted out of Venezuelan airspace.

The president is calling it a provocation by the U.S., saying the P-3 plane had taken off from the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao and twice entered Venezuelan airspace on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Southern Command in Miami denied it.

Air Force Tech Sgt. Shanda De Anda said Saturday that "no U.S. aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace."

She said the U.S. does not fly over another nation "without prior consent and coordination."