US seizes aircraft of Venezuelan president

The United States government has seized the aircraft of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, marking a significant escalation in the already tense relations between the two nations.

The seizure, carried out on Monday while the plane was in the Dominican Republic, has been described as a bold and unprecedented move by U.S. authorities, citing alleged violations of U.S. sanctions and other criminal activities related to the aircraft’s acquisition.

The aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, had been used by President Maduro for international travel and is considered Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One. According to U.S. officials, the plane was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and was smuggled out of the United States in April 2023, bound for Venezuela via the Caribbean.

The Justice Department has reported that the aircraft was primarily utilized for trips to and from a military base in Venezuela.

“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” a U.S. official told CNN. “Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions.”

The seizure has not gone unnoticed by the Dominican Republic, where President Luis Abinader clarified that the plane was registered under an individual’s name rather than the Venezuelan government. Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez confirmed that their Attorney General’s Office had received an order in May to immobilize the aircraft, following a request from the U.S. to search it for evidence related to fraud, smuggling, and money laundering.

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In response, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “The Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased and smuggled for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies.”

The Venezuelan government has vehemently condemned the seizure, labeling it as “piracy” and accusing Washington of intensifying its “aggression” against Maduro’s administration. This latest action comes on the heels of a contested presidential election in Venezuela this July, further straining diplomatic ties.

“Once again, the authorities of the USA, in a recurring criminal practice that could not be labeled anything but piracy, have illegally seized an aircraft that has been used by the president of the Republic, justifying its action in coercive measures that, illegally and unilaterally, they impose around the world,” stated the Venezuelan government.

The statement continued to criticize the United States for allegedly using its economic and military power to coerce other nations, such as the Dominican Republic, into complicity in these actions, challenging the international ‘rules-based order’ as a pretext for imposing the law of the strongest.