The United States on Monday seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s plane in the Dominican Republic and took it to Florida, saying it was in violation of US sanctions.
United States authorities attempted to seize the plane, a Dassault Falcon 900EX private jet used by Maduro and members of his government, while the Justice Department said the jet was “illegally purchased.”
“The Department of Justice has seized an aircraft that we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolas Maduro and his associates,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Aircraft tracking site Flight Radar 24 showed the jet took off from Santo Domingo for Fort Lauderdale on Monday morning.
The US says individuals linked to Maduro allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal their involvement in the illicit purchase of the jets in late 2022 and early 2023.
– ‘False’ victory claim –
The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023.
From May 2023, the aircraft will fly almost exclusively to Venezuelan military bases.
Protests broke out across the South American country after Maduro was declared the winner of a disputed election on July 28, leaving dozens dead and more than 2,400 arrested.
The opposition claims it has won with a landslide victory and has voting records to prove it.
The leftist Maduro government has resisted international pressure to release vote tallies to support its claim of victory, rejecting accusations of authoritarianism.
A US National Security Council spokesperson said, “Maduro and his proxies manipulated the results of the July 28 presidential election, falsely claimed victory, and conducted widespread repression to maintain power by force.”
He said the seizure of the plane was “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to face the consequences of his misrule in Venezuela.”
The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner without seeing detailed voting results.
Violence during the protests left 27 people dead and at least 192 injured.
Since 2005, Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuela that target individuals and entities “that engage in criminal, anti-democratic or corrupt practices,” according to a congressional briefing document.
“In response to increasing human rights abuses and corruption by the government of Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013, the Trump Administration has expanded U.S. sanctions to include financial sanctions, sectoral sanctions, and sanctions on the government.”
Caracas has not yet commented on the seizure.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
