The U.S. seizes Venezuelan President Maduro's aircraft.
The U.S. has seized a plane owned by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, alleging that it was purchased illegally for $13 million (£9.8 million) and smuggled out of the country.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transported to Florida. The circumstances of how the plane ended up in the Dominican Republic remain unclear, though tracking data shows it departed La Isabela Airport near Santo Domingo on Monday and arrived at Fort Lauderdale shortly after.
There has been no immediate response from President Maduro or the Venezuelan government regarding the seizure. U.S. officials have indicated that the plane was confiscated due to suspected breaches of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
The investigation revealed that Maduro’s associates allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to obscure their role in the plane's illicit purchase from a Florida company in late 2022 and early 2023. The aircraft was then reportedly exported illegally from the U.S. to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023.
U.S. officials argue that the plane’s sale and export violate U.S. sanctions, but President Maduro has previously accused the U.S. of interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council described the action as a significant step to hold Maduro accountable for his governance of Venezuela.
Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, praised the Dominican Republic for its “invaluable assistance” in the seizure process. Matthew S. Axelrod from the Department of Commerce emphasized that the U.S. would continue to collaborate globally to identify and recover any aircraft smuggled out of the country.
Data from Flightradar24 indicated that after its arrival in Kingston, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2023, the plane appeared to fly predominantly to and from a military base in Venezuela. The specifics of how and when it reached the Dominican Republic remain unclear.
The Venezuelan government had announced in late July that it was temporarily suspending commercial flights to both the Dominican Republic and Panama following Maduro’s controversial re-election. This is not the first instance of U.S. federal authorities targeting Maduro or his government for alleged corruption; in 2020, the Justice Department charged him and 14 Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking. The State Department has also offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction.
