A remarkable turn of events occurred when the United States took control of President Nicolas Maduro’s aircraft in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, was using an aircraft that the United States had taken from the Dominican Republic and flown to Florida. The South American leader called this action “piracy,” while Washington claimed it was required because of sanctions violations.
Officials from the United States tried to seize the private Dassault Falcon 900EX plane that Maduro and his government were using, claiming that the plane had been “illegally purchased.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, “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.”
Later on Monday, the Caracas foreign ministry released a statement condemning the seizure.
“Once again, the authorities of the United States of America are engaged in a criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy,” the statement stated.
According to the aircraft tracking website Flightradar24, the flight took out on Monday morning from Santo Domingo and arrived in Fort Lauderdale.
The Dominican Republic declared that it was not involved in the US investigation into the aircraft.
The aircraft “was in Dominican territory for maintenance purposes,” Dominican Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Alvarez told reporters, adding that “neither the Dominican government nor the public prosecutor’s office participated in the United States’ investigation process.”
contested claim of victory
The special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Miami office, Anthony Salisbury, stated that Nicolas Maduro used the aircraft mostly for multiple state visits.
On July 28, Maduro was proclaimed the election’s victor.
Washington has been imposing sanctions on Venezuela since 2005, aimed at specific people and organizations.
