The USA has confiscated a plane belonging to the authoritarian president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, for violating sanctions. This was announced by the US Department of Justice in Washington. The Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, which belongs to and is operated by Maduro and his entourage, was confiscated in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the US state of Florida. The reason for this is violations of American sanctions and export controls.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a written statement that the plane was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the US “for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies.” A representative of the US Department of Commerce stressed that it does not matter how fancy a private jet is or how powerful the officials who own the jet are – the US works relentlessly to bring back any aircraft that is illegally smuggled out of the United States.
The US government has imposed sanctions that prohibit Americans from doing business with members of the Maduro government and also imposes certain restrictions on exports to Venezuela.
USA recognizes opposition victory
The USA also rejects the controversial recent re-election of the country’s authoritarian president – despite the Supreme Court confirming the result. The party-line electoral authority had declared the head of state Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the presidential election on July 28 in the South American country. However, it has not yet published the detailed results – the government justifies this with a hacker attack. The opposition accuses the government of electoral fraud and claims victory for its candidate, Edmundo González.
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