1.  After all, the stolen plane was only about the size of a sedan and lacked the fuel capacity to pose the same threat as hijacked jetliners.

2.  Revelations that the stolen plane had been used to transport top national officials, including President Arnoldo Aleman, have triggered a national scandal.

3.  The stolen plane had apparently been registered in Nicaragua with the help of government officials and was used to transport drugs.

4.  Every year hundreds of Cubans attempt to leave the island in stolen planes and rickety boats and reach Florida, where US authorities invariably grant them asylum.

5.  Venezuelan Defense Minister General Moises Orozco charged Saturday that the Colombian air force is flying stolen Venezuelan planes.

6.  While Venezuela has complained in the past about stolen planes, it is the first time Orozco has charged that the Colombian air force flies them.