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The United States on Monday seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s plane in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida, a move condemned by the South American leader as “piracy” but which Washington said was necessary due to sanction violations.
United States officials moved to take the aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX private jet used by Maduro and members of his government, with the Justice Department saying the plane was “illegally purchased.”
“The Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolas Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The foreign ministry in Caracas issued a statement later on Monday denouncing the seizure.
