Fox News has confirmed that the US has seized a plane owned by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the Dominican Republic.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) returned Maduro's personal jet to the United States on Monday morning, landing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he is now in US custody, a US official told Fox News. Reported by CNN.
The plane, which officials described as Maduro's version of “Air Force One,” has been used by President Maduro on state visits around the world and was seized in the Dominican Republic after being purchased through a shell company in violation of sanctions laws and export controls, officials said. U.S. authorities cited a specific violation of U.S. Executive Order 13884, signed by former President Donald Trump in 2019.
The plane, a Dassault Falcon 900-EX, was valued at $13 million. The seizure was the result of a joint investigation by HSI and the US Department of Commerce.
“This morning, the Department of Justice seized an aircraft that was allegedly illegally purchased through a shell company for $13 million and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to pursue those who violate sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using U.S. resources to undermine our national security.”
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's plane has been photographed parked on a runway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after being seized by US authorities and flown out of the Dominican Republic. (WFOR)
“This seizure sends a clear message: aircraft illegally obtained from the United States on behalf of sanctioned Venezuelan officials will not just disappear,” Commerce Under Secretary for Export Control Matthew Axelrod added. “No matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials, we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners domestically and around the world to identify and return aircraft illegally smuggled out of the United States.”
The seizure is expected to further worsen relations between the United States and Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech in support of his reelection to government supporters gathered at the presidential palace one month after the presidential election, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubilos)
In August 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13884, which prohibits U.S. persons from conducting business with anyone who has acted or is alleged to have acted directly or indirectly on behalf of the Venezuelan government, including members of the Maduro regime. To protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the Commerce Department is also imposing export controls on items intended, in whole or in part, for the Venezuelan military or end users of military information, the Justice Department announced on Monday.
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According to U.S. investigators, between late 2022 and early 2023, individuals with ties to President Maduro allegedly used shell companies based in the Caribbean to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, valued at the time at approximately $13 million, from a company based in the Southern District of Florida.
Government supporters hold up posters of the late former president Hugo Chavez outside the presidential palace during a rally in support of the reelection of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubilos)
According to federal investigators, the aircraft was illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023. Since May 2023, the Dassault Falcon, with the aircraft registration T7-ESPRT, “has been used almost exclusively for transportation to and from Venezuelan military bases and for President Maduro and his representatives, including transporting him during his visits to other countries,” the Justice Department said.
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The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security's Miami Field Office is investigating the incident along with the Department of Homeland Security and HSI El Dorado Task Force Miami.
Fox News' David Spunt contributed to this report.
