The United States has seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's plane, the U.S. Justice Department said. “We are sending a clear message that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” an American official told CNN.
United States took over in Dominicans the president's plane Venezuela Nicolas Maduro after determining that its purchase violated U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.
“This morning, the Department of Justice seized an aircraft that appears to have been illegally purchased for $13 million through a front company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolas Maduro and his cronies,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The value of the aircraft, described as the Venezuelan equivalent of the American presidential aircraft Air Force One, is estimated at $13 million. The takeover involved multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Department of Justice, reports the American station CNN.
The plane was taken over by the United StatesPAP/EPA
CNN sources did not reveal why the plane was in the Dominican Republic. However, it was a convenient opportunity to confiscate it, and many U.S. federal agencies have begun cooperating with Dominican authorities because of it, officials said. Now, after the plane is brought back to the U.S., forfeiture proceedings will be initiated.
“No one is beyond the reach of US sanctions”
“The seizure of a foreign head of state's aircraft is unheard of in criminal cases. We are sending a clear message that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” one U.S. official told CNN.
“We see how the Maduro regime is deceiving the Venezuelan people for its own benefit,” the official said.
Nicolas Maduro during a pro-government rally in Caracas, Venezuela, August 17, 2024.PAP/EPA/MIGUEL GUTIERREZ
US Sanctions on Venezuela
On July 28, Venezuela held presidential elections, with the regime declaring Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner. The opposition, on the other hand, published minutes showing a clear victory for its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. It also accused the authorities of electoral fraud.
The United States recently pressured the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release presidential election data due to concerns about the credibility of Maduro’s victory.
Under Maduro's rule, oil-rich Venezuela has experienced a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis, which has fueled a wave of migration from Venezuela to the U.S. More than 7.5 million people have fled Venezuela, many of whom have tried to enter the United States illegally through Mexico.
Nicolas Maduro Claims He Won the Elections: Protests Erupt in VenezuelaJoanna Stempień/Facts about the World TVN24 BiS
For years, U.S. officials have tried to disrupt the flow of billions of dollars into Venezuela. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. federal government's second-largest investigative agency, has seized dozens of luxury vehicles that were destined for Caracas, among other things..
Earlier this year, the United States reimposed sanctions on Venezuela's oil and gas sector in response to Maduro's government's failure to allow “inclusive and competitive elections.”
In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Maduro and 14 current and former Venezuelan officials on charges of narcotics terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption.
Main image source: PAP/EPA