OAN Staff James Meyers
1:24 PM – Monday, September 2, 2024
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s plane was seized by U.S. authorities in the Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports.
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It was determined by the Department of Justice that it was acquired in violation of U.S. sanctions and other criminal issues, two U.S. officials told CNN.
The U.S flew the Dassault Falcon 900, which has been pictured with Maduro on state visits across the globe, to Florida on Monday.
“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” one of the US officials told CNN.
“Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions.”
The plane is estimated to be worth close to $13 million.
However, it has not been determined why the plane had been in the Dominican Republic in recent months.
The plane seizure was done by multiple agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations; Commerce agents, the Bureau of Industry and Security; and the Justice Department, CNN said.
The U.S. also worked closely with the Dominican Republic, which informed Venezuela of the seizure, one of the U.S. officials stated.
Now, the next steps will pursuing forfeiture, which will give the Venezuelan government a chance to petition for the airplane, and collecting evidence from the plane, according to CNN.
The seizure comes as the relationship continues to get tense between the U.S. and Venezuela, as the U.S. has been investigating the election results and looking into the Venezuelan government’s alleged influence in the results.
Last month, the U.S. said that there was no evidence that Maduro won the latest presidential election in July.
Additionally, the U.S. also reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector earlier this year in response to the Maduro government’s failure to allow a fair election.
After the controversial July 28th election, Venezuela suspended commercial flights to and from the Dominican Republic.
The dire situation in Venezuela impacts the U.S. a great deal, as millions of migrants prefer to leave their country in favor of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Meanwhile, as of June 2024, 7.7 million people have fled Venezuela, which is the largest displacement in the Western Hemisphere currently.
“We see these officials and the Maduro regime basically fleecing the Venezuelan people for their own gain,” a US official told CNN.
“You have people who can’t even afford a loaf of bread there and then you have the president of Venezuela jetting around in a high-class private jet.”
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