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The US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – claiming it was bought illegally for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country.
According to the US justice department, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the US state of Florida.
It is unclear how and when the plane ended up in the Dominican Republic. Tracking data showed it leaving La Isabela airport near the capital Santo Domingo on Monday, arriving at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida soon after.
There was no immediate comment from Mr Maduro or the Venezuelan government over the matter.
US officials said the plane was seized for suspected violations of US export control and sanctions laws.
They added that an investigation found that people affiliated with Mr Maduro had allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the plane’s illegal purchase from a company based in Florida in late 2022 and early 2023.
The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023.
A spokesperson for the White House national security council said the action represented “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela”.
Markenzy Lapointe, US attorney for the Southern District of Florida said the Dominican Republic authorities had given the US government “invaluable assistance” in organising the seizure.
“It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States,” said Matthew S Axelrod from the department of commerce – one of the federal agencies involved in the operation to recover the plane.
The plane appeared to be flown to the Venezuelan capital Caracas after arriving in Kingston in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2023, according to data held by the Flightradar24 website.
US officials said it subsequently flew “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela”. It is unclear how and when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic.
But officials said the jet had been used by Mr Maduro “on visits to other countries”.
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