The US authorities have confiscated a plane belonging to the authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for violating sanctions. This was announced by the Justice Department in Washington. The Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, which belongs to 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 “to be used 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 its owner, the US works relentlessly to bring back any aircraft illegally smuggled out of the United States. US government sanctions prohibit Americans from doing business with members of the Maduro government. There are also restrictions on exports to Venezuela.
Venezuelan government reacts indignantly
The government of the South American country condemned the seizure of its plane. “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces to the international community that the authorities of the United States of America have illegally seized a plane belonging to the President of the Republic, in a criminal practice that can only be described as piracy, justifying this with the coercive measures that they impose unilaterally and illegally throughout the world,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Caracas.
USA recognizes opposition victory
The USA denies Maduro any legitimacy in office and also considers his controversial recent re-election to be rigged. The confirmation of the result by the loyal Supreme Court is not accepted by several countries. The electoral authority declared the head of state, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the presidential election on July 28. However, it has not yet published the detailed results – the government justifies this with an alleged hacker attack. The opposition speaks of electoral fraud and claims victory for its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
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