US Seizes Venezuelan President’s Private Jet Over Sanctions Violations

The United States has confiscated ‍a plane‌ believed to be the private​ jet of Venezuelan⁣ President Nicolas Maduro, citing violations of Washington’s sanctions against Caracas.

Venezuelan⁣ President Nicolas Maduro’s plane was ‌confiscated in the Dominican Republic and⁣ taken to the US (Photo: AFP).

The Department of Justice has seized ⁢an aircraft allegedly purchased illegally for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United ‌States for use by Venezuelan ‍President Nicolas Maduro⁢ and his associates, according to US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The aircraft was seized due to violations of US sanctions against Venezuela and other criminal ⁤matters that ⁢are still being reviewed related to this aircraft, said ​Anthony Salisbury, an official with the US Homeland Security Investigations agency.

According to the US Department of Justice, this is a Dassault Falcon 900EX purchased from a company in Florida and illegally exported from ⁤the US to Venezuela in April 2023 via the Caribbean.

President Maduro ⁤uses this plane for ⁢international trips, likened to the US’s “Air Force One”. The plane “almost exclusively flew to and from a military base in Venezuela.” Tracking data shows the plane’s ⁢last registered flight was⁢ in March, flying from⁣ Caracas to ​the ⁤Dominican capital​ Santo Domingo.

The seizure of‍ the plane was carried out in coordination with US and Dominican authorities. A senior Dominican ​official said that before the seizure, the Venezuelan leader’s plane was in Dominican territory for maintenance. Dominican authorities informed Venezuela about the seizure.

The plane, which ​was seized in Dominica, was taken to Miami, Florida, in the United ⁢States. The seizure involved multiple U.S. federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security and‍ Industry, and the Department of Justice.

The seizure of the aircraft sends a clear message that no one⁢ is above the law, no one is beyond the reach of US sanctions, a US official stressed.

This⁣ is the⁤ latest ⁣development in the long-frozen relationship ⁤between the US and Venezuela. ​The US has recently put pressure on⁤ the Venezuelan⁣ government to release specific data related to the country’s disputed ‌July presidential election, questioning Maduro’s victory.

The ⁤Venezuelan government described the arrest as a “violation” and accused Washington of escalating ‌its⁢ aggression against President Maduro’s government after the July ⁢election.

Once again, the US authorities have illegally seized⁣ an aircraft used by the Venezuelan President, justifying their actions with the illegal and unilateral coercive‍ measures they impose around the world, the Venezuelan government commented.

The statement also stressed: The United States has demonstrated that it uses ​its ⁢economic and military power to threaten and pressure countries like the Dominican Republic.