The US has seized a plane owned by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – on the grounds that it was illegally bought for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country.
According to the US Department of Justice, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and shipped to the US state of Florida.
It is unclear how or when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic. Tracking data shows it departed La Isabela Airport near the capital Santo Domingo on Monday and arrived at Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida shortly afterward.
There has been no comment from Mr Maduro or the Venezuelan government on the matter.
The plane was seized on suspicion of violating US export control and sanctions laws, US officials said.
They added that the investigation had found that people linked to Mr Maduro allegedly used a Caribbean-based front company to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of aircraft from a Florida-based company in late 2022 and early 2023.
The aircraft was then illegally transported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023.
A White House national security council spokesman said the move was “an important step to ensure Maduro continues to suffer the consequences of his mismanagement of Venezuela.”
Markenzy Lapointe, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said the Dominican Republic government provided the US government with “invaluable assistance” in organizing the arrest.
“No matter how luxurious the private jet or how powerful the officials, we will work tirelessly with our partners here and around the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled out of the United States,” said Matthew S Axelrod of the Commerce Department — one of the federal agencies involved in the aircraft recovery operation.
The plane appears to have flown to Venezuela’s capital Caracas after arriving in Kingston in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2023, according to data from the website Flightradar24.
The plane then flew “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela,” US officials said. It is unclear how or when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic.
But officials said the jet had been used by Mr Maduro “during visits to other countries”.
