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The US government has seized a luxury jet used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that officials say was illegally purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States in violation of sanctions and export control laws.
The Dassault Falcon 900EX was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the custody of federal officials in Florida, the Justice Department said Monday. The plane landed at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport shortly before noon Monday, according to flight tracking websites.
US officials say associates of the Venezuelan leader in late 2022 and early 2023 used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the purchase of the plane, valued at $13 million, from a company in Florida. The plane was then exported from the US to Venezuela, through the Caribbean, in April 2023 in a transaction meant to circumvent an executive order that bars US persons from business transactions with representatives of Maduro’s government.
The plane, registered to San Marino, was widely used by Maduro for foreign travel, including in trips earlier this year to Guyana and Cuba. It was also involved in a December swap on a Caribbean airstrip of several Americans jailed in Venezuela for a close Maduro ally, Alex Saab, imprisoned in the US on money laundering charges.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the aircraft had been smuggled out of the US for use by “Maduro and his cronies.” Venezuela’s government acknowledged the seizure in a statement Monday. It characterized the US government’s move as “a repeated criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy.”
Federal prosecutors have also seized several private jets belonging to top government officials and insiders who have been either sanctioned or indicted in the US. The US has sanctioned 55 Venezuelan-registered planes, mostly belonging to state-owned oil giant PDVSA. It has also offered a $15 million bounty for the arrest of Maduro to face federal drug trafficking charges in New York.
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,” Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary for export enforcement in the Commerce Department, said in a statement.
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As CNN first reported, this seizure announcement comes just over a month after ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor in presidential elections without showing any detailed results to back up their claim. The lack of transparency has drawn international condemnation. Meanwhile, the opposition managed to obtain more than 80% of vote tally sheets showing Maduro lost by a wide margin against former diplomat Edmundo González.
The plane was previously registered in the US and owned by Lorida, Florida-based Six G Aviation, a broker that buys and sells used aircraft. FAA records indicate it was exported to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and de-registered in the US in January 2023. Gary Gwynn, owner of Six G, declined to comment, stating that he’d been instructed by the FBI not to speak to anyone.
In March, the plane flew to the Dominican Republic, along with a Venezuelan-registered plane, for what was believed to be maintenance, never to leave again.
Conclusion
This seizure marks a significant move by the US to prevent the misuse of airspace and aircraft for illicit purposes. The illegal acquisition of planes and the circumvention of sanctions will not go unpunished.
Q: What was the suspected violation of sanctions and export control laws in this case?
A: The authorities say that the plane was purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the US to Venezuela without going through proper channels or following US regulations.
Q: What was the fate of the plane after being seized?
A: After being seized, the plane was transferred to the custody of federal officials in Florida.
Q: Who commented on the seizure?
A: Attorney General Merrick Garland, Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary for export enforcement in the Commerce Department, and Anthony Salisbury, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Miami.
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