The United States has seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s private jet, with officials saying its acquisition was a violation of US sanctions and citing other "criminal issues" as well, CNN has reported. According to the report, the US Justice Department has said the plane was purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the US in violation of sanctions and export laws.
The Dassault Falcon 900EX, the Associated Press reported, was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the custody of federal US officials in Florida. In April 2023, the plane was allegedly illegally exported from the US to Venezuela through the Caribbean. CNN reported that its last flight was in March, from Caracas to the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo.
The plane has been described as Venezuela’s equivalent to the US President's Air Force One, and pictured during state visits by Maduro around the world, CNN reported. US officials said seizing the plane of a country’s head was “unheard of”. “We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions,” an official was quoted as saying by CNN.
The US and Venezuela have long had frosty ties, and the plane seizure — as part of a multi-agency operation — from the Dominican Republic marks an escalation.
The Venezuelan government in a statement described the seizure as “piracy”, CNN reported. It said Washington was “justifying its action in coercive measures that, illegally and unilaterally, they impose around the world”. It said that the US has already demonstrated its “economic and military power to intimidate and pressure states such as the Dominican Republic to serve as accomplices in its criminal acts”.
It called the seizure an example of the “supposed ‘rules-based order’ which disregards international law and seeks to establish the law of the strongest".
The seizure comes just over a month after Venezuela's electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor of a controversial presidential election without providing any detailed results to support their claim. This lack of transparency has drawn international condemnation. The Opposition has managed to obtain more than 80% of vote tally sheets — documents released by election machines to verify the vote — that reportedly show Maduro lost by a wide margin against former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, AP reported.
The US recently pressured the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release specific data concerning its presidential election, expressing concerns about the credibility of Maduro's claimed victory, according to CNN.
The situation in Venezuela has had implications for US politics as millions flee the country, with many headed for the US.