Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has had his jet seized by the US, who believe he unlawfully paid $13 million (£9.8 million) for it and had it smuggled out of the nation.
The Falcon 900EX aircraft was taken into custody in the Dominican Republic and then moved to the US state of Florida, as stated by the US Department of Justice.
How and when the aircraft arrived in the Dominican Republic is unknown. According to tracking data, it departed from La Isabela airport, which is close to Santo Domingo’s capital, on Monday and arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida shortly after.
Neither Mr. Maduro nor the Venezuelan government responded to the situation right away.
According to US officials, US export control and sanctions rules are suspected of having been broken by the plane’s seizure.
They further mentioned that a probe found that people affiliated with Mr. Maduro had allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the plane’s illegal purchase from a company based in Florida in late 2022 and early 2023.
In April 2023, the airplane was then forcibly transported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean.
President Maduro, who has frequently accused the US of interfering in his nation’s internal affairs, is unlikely to give much credence to the US officials’ claim that the plane’s sale and shipment violated US sanctions.
The move was described as “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela” by a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
According to US attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, the authorities in the Dominican Republic provided the US government with “invaluable assistance” in organizing the seizure.
US authorities are working tirelessly to recover a private jet that was allegedly flown to Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, after arriving in Kingston, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines in April 2023. The jet was reportedly used by Venezuelan President Maduro on visits to other countries.
The Venezuelan government temporarily suspended commercial flights to the Dominican Republic and Panama following the controversial re-election of Maduro. This is not the first time Maduro’s or Venezuela’s government has been targeted by US federal authorities over alleged corruption.
In 2020, the justice department charged Maduro and 14 Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking. The State Department has offered a reward of up to $15m for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction. More details will be published shortly.
(BBC)
