US seizes Venezuelan ‘Air Force One’

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The jet was allegedly used by President Nicolas Maduro

The US government has confiscated an airplane reportedly used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for allegedly violating American sanctions on Caracas.

The US has charged Maduro with drug trafficking and refused to recognize his victory in the last two Venezuelan presidential elections.

"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," an unnamed Washington official told CNN, which first reported the story on Monday.

According to CNN, the plane is worth around $13 million and was seized in cooperation with the Dominican authorities.

The US outlet did not identify the airplane, saying only it was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to Miami, Florida. The departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, and Justice were involved in the seizure.

The Miami Herald identified the jet as a Dassault Falcon 900EX, a French-built corporate jet that has previously visited Cuba, Brazil and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, "often with Maduro on board." It appears to be registered in San Marino, a small landlocked country in Europe.

The Herald cited records from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showing that a Florida-based company sold the plane to a company in St. Vincent, which then resold it to San Marino. The US government alleges that the reseller was a Venezuelan shell company and that the sale violated its sanctions on Venezuela.

American officials described the jet as Venezuela's equivalent of the US "Air Force One," noting that Maduro has flown it to a number of places. It was unclear how it ended up in the Dominican Republic, as Venezuela suspended commercial air travel with the island after the July 28 presidential election.

According to CNN, the US intends to confiscate the plane through asset forfeiture process. This means Venezuela could theoretically challenge it in court - if it can find a way around the sanctions to do so.

This is the second Venezuelan jet to be seized by the US this year. In February, Argentina sent over a Boeing 747-300M cargo plane confiscated in 2022, because Caracas allegedly bought it from a sanctioned Iranian company. Maduro called the seizure "a blatant theft" on part of Argentinian President Javier Milei's government.

Washington has seized $2 billion worth of Venezuelan bank accounts and assets in recent years, one unnamed official told CNN.

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