“The Department of Justice seized an aircraft that was illegally acquired for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Aircraft tracking website Flight Radar 24 showed the plane, a Dassault Falcon 900EX private jet, flew from Santo Domingo to Fort Lauderdale on Monday morning, September 2.
The United States says that in late 2022 and early 2023, individuals linked to Maduro allegedly used a shell company based in the Caribbean to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of the plane.
In April 2023, the aircraft was illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean, and from May of that year it flew almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela.
Political crisis
The South American country has been in the midst of a serious political crisis since the July 28 elections in which Maduro was declared the winner for a third six-year term.
The opposition claims it won by an overwhelming majority and has voting records to prove it.
Maduro’s leftist government has not released a vote count to legitimize its victory despite intense international pressure.
“Maduro and his representatives have manipulated the results of the July 28 presidential election, falsely claimed victory, and carried out widespread repression to maintain power by force,” a spokesman for the US National Security Council said.
The seizure of the plane “is an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences of his misgovernance of Venezuela,” he added.
The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognise Maduro as the winner without first seeing the results of the vote in detail.
The violence that occurred during the post-election protests left 27 dead and at least 192 injured.
Since 2005, Washington has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities in Venezuela “that have engaged in criminal, anti-democratic or corrupt actions,” according to a US congressional document.
“In response to increasing human rights abuses and corruption by the government of Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013, the Trump administration expanded US sanctions to include financial, sector-specific and government-specific sanctions,” the source said.
Venezuela reserves legal action
The Government of Venezuela announced this Monday, September 2, that will reserve the right to take legal action to “repair” the damage caused by the confiscation of President Nicolás Maduro’s official plane, which was seized in the Dominican Republic by order of the United States authorities, within the framework of the sanctions applied to Caracas.
Venezuela “reserves the right to take any legal action to repair this damage to the nation, as well as all other damages caused by the criminal policy” of the US, Maduro’s government said in a statement, in which it called the confiscation “piracy.”
According to Washington, the aircraft, which was transferred to Florida after being “illegally purchased” for US$13 million, is a Dassault Falcon 900EX owned by Maduro and people affiliated with him in Venezuela, which was operated on his behalf.
However, Venezuela has said that this is a “criminal practice” applied by the US, “justifying” itself by the numerous sanctions applied against high-ranking Chavista officials in recent years.
“This action shows that no State is safe from illegal actions that ignore international law (…) The United States has already demonstrated that it uses its economic and military power to intimidate and pressure States such as the Dominican Republic to become accomplices in its criminal acts,” the statement continued.
According to Caracas, “this is not an isolated action” but rather “part of an escalation of actions against the Government” following the elections of July 28, whose official result gave victory to Maduro, which has not been recognized by many countries, since the majority opposition denounces fraud and claims victory.
According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in late 2022 and early 2023, individuals affiliated with Maduro allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of the aircraft from a company based in the Southern District of Florida.
The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023 and has since flown “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela and has been used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, including to transport Maduro on visits to other countries.”
Garland added that the Department will continue to pursue those who violate sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using U.S. resources “to undermine the national security of the United States.”
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