US seizes plane of Venezuelan President Maduro

 

The US has seized a plane owned by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, claiming it had been purchased illegally for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the U.S. state of Florida.

It is unclear how and when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic.

Tracking data showed the plane departed La Isabela Airport, near the capital Santo Domingo, on Monday, arriving shortly thereafter at Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida.

Venezuela denounced the kidnapping, saying it was an act of “piracy.”

Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the United States had justified itself “with the coercive measures it unilaterally and illegally imposes throughout the world.”

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said it “reserves the right to take any legal action to repair this damage to the nation.”

U.S. officials said the plane was seized over alleged violations of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

They added that an investigation found that people affiliated with Mr Maduro allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the illegal purchase of the plane from a Florida-based company in late 2022 or early 2023.

The plane was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023.

The argument by U.S. officials that the sale and export of the plane violated U.S. sanctions is unlikely to carry much weight with President Maduro, who has repeatedly accused the United States of meddling in his country’s internal affairs.

The U.S. Department of Justice says the plane is owned and operated by Nicolás Maduro and his associates in Venezuela

A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the action was “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to suffer the consequences of his poor governance in Venezuela.”

Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said authorities in the Dominican Republic provided the U.S. government with “invaluable assistance” in organizing the kidnapping.

“No matter how luxurious the private jet or how powerful the officials, we will work tirelessly with our partners here and around the world to identify and return any aircraft smuggled out of the United States,” said Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department, one of the federal agencies involved in the plane recovery operation.

According to data from the website Flightradar24, the plane appeared to be headed to the Venezuelan capital Caracas after arriving in Kingston, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in April 2023.

U.S. officials said it later flew “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela.” It is unclear how or when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic.

But U.S. officials said the jet was used by Mr Maduro “on visits to other countries.”

The Venezuelan government announced in late July the temporary suspension of commercial flights to the Dominican Republic and Panama, following the controversial re-election of Mr Maduro.

The Venezuelan opposition has released poll data suggesting that its unity candidate, Edmundo González, has won a convincing victory.

Clarifications on the office of IGP: Thank you, President Bola Tinubu, by Adewole Kehinde

However, his victory was not recognized by the electoral council loyal to Mr Maduro.

The European Union refused to recognize Maduro as a candidate for re-election in July, without first seeing the results of the vote.

Several Latin American countries have also denied their support, including Maduro’s former ally, Brazilian President Lula, who has called for maximum transparency from the Venezuelan government.

The United States recognized González as the winner, saying there was “overwhelming” evidence of Maduro’s defeat.

This is not the first time that Mr Maduro or the Venezuelan government have been targeted by US federal authorities for alleged corruption.

In 2020, the Justice Department indicted Maduro and 14 Venezuelan officials on narcoterrorism, corruption and drug trafficking, among other charges.

The State Department has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro. [BBC]

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