Aruban authorities deny fake news about Venezuelan gold seizure

Oranjestad‎, February 18 (RHC)-- Aruba's Justice Minister Andin Bikker has denied a fake news story that claimed the government of this Caribbean nation had confiscated a Venezuelan plane carrying more than 900 kilos of gold.

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.