US seizes plane used by Venezuelan president Maduro, citing sanctions violations

US authorities claim that associates linked to the Venezuelan leader used a shell company based in the Caribbean to obscure their involvement in the plane’s purchase, which was initially valued at $13 million.

The aircraft was exported from the US to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023, in what officials describe as a deliberate attempt to bypass an executive order prohibiting US persons from engaging in business with the Maduro regime.

The plane, registered in San Marino, had been widely used by Maduro for international travel, including visits earlier this year to Guyana and Cuba.

“Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” said Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department.

This action comes shortly after Venezuela’s controversial presidential election, where electoral authorities aligned with the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner without providing detailed results.

The lack of transparency has sparked widespread international condemnation. Meanwhile, the opposition claimed that their review of over 80% of the vote tally sheets showed Maduro was defeated by a significant margin by former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.

The same plane had also been used last December to transport several Americans, who had been imprisoned for years in Venezuela, to Canouan Island in the Caribbean.

These individuals were exchanged for Alex Saab, a businessman and close Maduro ally who was jailed in the US on charges of money laundering.

In March, the aircraft flew to the Dominican Republic, accompanied by a Venezuelan-registered plane, reportedly for maintenance. However, it never departed from the country.

The US has also imposed sanctions on 55 Venezuelan-registered planes owned by the state oil giant PDVSA and has offered a $15 million reward for Maduro’s arrest on federal drug trafficking charges in New York.

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