US seizes plane used by Venezuelan president

The U.S. government has seized a plane used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after officials determined its purchase violated sanctions and export control laws, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Monday.

The Dassault Falcon 900EX was seized Monday morning in the Dominican Republican and transferred to federal officials in Florida, the DOJ said in a statement.

“This morning, 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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote.

A U.S. investigation found people affiliated with Maduro allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the illegal purchase of the aircraft from a Florida-based company in late 2022 and early 2023, the DOJ said. This was done to circumvent a 2019 executive order that prohibits U.S. persons from business transactions with the Maduro regime, officials alleged.

The plane was then illegally exported to Venezuela in April 2023 and has been used by Maduro and his representatives to and from a military base in Venezuela.

“The seizure of this aircraft is another significant action by Homeland Security Investigations working with our domestic and international partners against the illegal activities of the Maduro regime,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury with the Homeland Security Investigations of Miami. 

CNN first reported the plane seizure.

The seized plane was the one to carry several Americans imprisoned for years in Venezuela to the Caribbean Island of Canouan last December, when they were swapped in exchange for Maduro’s ally, businessman Alex Saab, who was jailed in the U.S. on money laundering charges, The Associated Press reported.

The plane flew to the Dominican Republic for what was believed to be maintenance but did not leave, the news wire added.

The U.S. has sanctioned 55 Venezuelan-registered planes owned by state owned oil company PDVSA, per the AP.

The Venezuelan government’s centralized press office did not immediately return the AP’s request for comment Monday.

The announcement comes nearly a month since Venezuela held their presidential elections in which Maduro’s electoral authorities declared him the winner without any detailed results to back this up. Election tallies showed the opposition’s Edmundo González received nearly double the votes of Maduro.

The controversy sparked massive protests in the country, though Maduro and his allies have remained steadfast in their victory claims.