United States authorities seized a $13 million luxury plane used by Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro on Monday after authorities determined that its purchase violated U.S. sanctions imposed on the rogue regime.
The aircraft, identified as a Dassault Falcon 900EX bearing tail number T7-ESPRT, was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to an air base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The plane reportedly flew to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for maintenance, and remained there until it was seized.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press statement that an investigation determined that individuals affiliated with the Maduro regime allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal the purchase of the aircraft from a Florida-based company sometime between late 2022 and early 2023.
The aircraft, according to the statement, was illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023. Since May 2023, the plane was used by the socialist regime to transport Maduro and members of his socialist regime. The plane flew “almost exclusively” to and from a military base in Venezuela.
“This morning, the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased 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.
“The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States,” said Garland.
The United States, during the administration of former President Donald Trump, issued an Executive Order in August 2019 that prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons who “have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly” on behalf of the Maduro regime.
“Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” Dept. of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States.”
In addition to transporting Maduro and senior regime officials in the past, the plane was reportedly used by the Maduro regime in December 2023 to fly a group of unjustly imprisoned Americans to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to be exchanged for Maduro’s top money launderer and key financial brain Alex Saab, who was released by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap deal with the Venezuelan socialist dictator.
The White House claimed shortly after the exchange that Saab’s release was part of the Biden administration’s strategy to curb the flow of Venezuelan migrants that continue to enter the United States.
Dominican President Luis Abinader and Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez held a press conference on Monday, where they clarified that the now seized Maduro regime-owned aircraft was not registered under Maduro nor the Venezuelan government’s name,
“We must point out that this airplane was not in the name of the Venezuelan government; it was in the name of a private individual,” President Abinader said, pointing out that some 40 airplanes are presently receiving maintenance in the country.
Foreign Minister Álvarez said that the aircraft was retained in May by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the request of U.S. authorities as part of a criminal investigation process, leading to its seizure on Monday.
Álvarez stressed that the Dominican authorities did not participate in the investigation being carried out by U.S. judicial authorities, which is why, he said, the government will not issue an opinion on the matter, and referred questions to the Public Ministry instead, which he qualified as independent, if further details on the seizure of the aircraft are required.
“The information on this matter should be offered by the Public Prosecutor’s office. The Public Prosecutor’s Office enjoys autonomy, and the central government has no opinion on this,” Álvarez said. “We [the government] found out about this request when we received the formal note.”
The Maduro regime denounced the seizure of the plane as an act of “piracy” through an official statement released by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil on his Telegram account, announcing that the rogue regime will reserve the right to take legal action to “repair the damage” caused by the confiscation the socialist dictator’s plane.
“This action reveals that no state and no constitutional government is safe from illegal actions that disregard international law,” the statement reads. “The United States has already demonstrated that it uses its economic and military might to intimidate and pressure states such as the Dominican Republic to serve as accomplices in its criminal acts.”
“This is an example of the so-called ‘rules-based order,’ which, disregarding international law, seeks to establish the law of the strongest, create rules that suit its interests and execute them with total impunity,” the statement continues.
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