WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States yesterday  denied President Hugo Chavez’s assertion a U.S. military plane  twice violated Venezuelan airspace earlier in the day.

“We can confirm no U.S. military aircraft entered  Venezuelan airspace today. As a matter of policy we do not fly  over a nation’s airspace without prior consent or  coordination,” a spokesman for the Pentagon said in an e-mail.

Asked about Chavez’s statement he ordered two F-16 jets to  intercept the U.S. military plane, the Pentagon spokesman said,  “I can only speak for our actions, which confirms no U.S.  military aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace.”