(Bloomberg) -- The US seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s plane after concluding it was bought and operated in violation of US sanctions.
The Dassault Falcon 900EX jet was seized earlier this year by police in the Dominican Republic when it landed in Santo Domingo. A Florida district court requested an embargo on the aircraft on May 22, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. The US Justice Department says the plane was purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the country.
The plane was found to be operating in violation of export control restrictions for the benefit of Maduro and those around him, the Justice Department said in a statement. The aircraft has been flown to Florida.
“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,” Matthew S. Axelrod, the Commerce Department’s assistant secretary for export enforcement, said in a statement.
In a statement, Maduro’s government said it considered the “illegal” seizure by the US as part of a series of “incremental actions” against Venezuela.
The seizure comes a month after Venezuela’s presidential vote, in which the electoral authority declared that Maduro was reelected for a third consecutive term. The US and others have questioned the legitimacy of the vote count and called on the government to release electoral data.
(Updates with comments from Venezuela govt. in the 5th paragraph.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
