The US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, claiming it was bought illegally for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country.
According to the US justice department, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the US state of Florida.
It is unclear how and when the plane ended up in the Dominican Republic. Tracking data showed it leaving La Isabela airport near the capital Santo Domingo on Monday, arriving at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida soon after.
Venezuela has denounced the seizure, saying that it amounted to an act of “piracy”.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the US had justified itself “with the coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose around the world”.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said it “reserves the right to take any legal action to repair this damage to the nation”.
US officials said the plane was seized for suspected violations of US export control and sanctions laws.
They added that an investigation found that people affiliated with Mr Maduro had allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the plane’s illegal purchase from a company based in Florida in late 2022 and early 2023.
The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023.
The argument by US officials that the plane’s sale and export was in violation of US sanctions is unlikely to carry much weight with President Maduro, who has repeatedly accused the US of meddling in his country’s internal affairs.
ReutersA spokesperson for the White House national security council said the action represented “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela”.
Markenzy Lapointe, US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said the Dominican Republic authorities had given the US government “invaluable assistance” in organising the seizure.
“It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States,” said Matthew S Axelrod from the department of commerce – one of the federal agencies involved in the operation to recover the plane.
The plane appeared to be flown to the Venezuelan capital Caracas after arriving in Kingston in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2023, according to data held by the Flightradar24 website.
US officials said it subsequently flew “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela”. It is unclear how and when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic.
But US officials said the jet had been used by Mr Maduro “on visits to other countries”.
The Venezuelan government announced in late July that it was temporarily suspending commercial flights to both the Dominican Republic and Panama following the controversial re-election of Mr Maduro.
Venezuela’s opposition has released polling data which suggests its unity candidate, Edmundo González, won a convincing victory. However, his win has not been recognised by an electoral council loyal to Mr Maduro.
The European Union has refused to recognise Maduro as having won re-election in July without seeing voting results.
Several Latin American countries have also withheld their support, with Mr Maduro’s former ally, President Lula of Brazil, among those calling for full transparency by the Venezuelan government.
The US has recognised Mr González as the winner, saying there is “overwhelming” evidence of Maduro’s defeat.
This is not the first time Mr Maduro or Venezuela’s government have been targeted by US federal authorities over alleged corruption.
In 2020, the justice department charged Mr Maduro and 14 Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking, among other charges.
The state department has offered a reward of up to $15m for information leading to Mr Maduro’s arrest or conviction.