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The US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro.
The US Justice Department claimed the plane was bought illegally in the US for $13 million and smuggled out of the country, BBC reports.
The Falcon 900EX aircraft was in the Dominican Republic when it was seized and flown back to the US state of Florida.
American officials said the plane was seized after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions, among other criminal issues.
The US has imposed a wide range of sanctions on Venezuela to force Mr Maduro out of office.
The seizure of the presidential jet is the latest development in what has long been a frosty relationship between the US and Venezuela.
In a statement on Monday, the US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said, “the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies.”
The plane was purchased from a company in Florida, the Justice Department said, and was illegally exported in April 2023 from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean.
The plane has since been used to fly “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela,” the Justice Department added, and has been used for Mr Maduro’s international travels.
“Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” said US Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod of the Department of Commerce. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States.”
The US recently placed pressure on the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release specific data regarding its presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of strongman leader Maduro’s victory.
Earlier this year, CNN reported that the US reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector in response to the Maduro government’s failure to allow “an inclusive and competitive election” to take place.
