US seizes Maduro's US$13m plane

THE US Department of Homeland Security has seized a US$13 million private jet it believed was illegally bought for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and smuggled out of the US and exported to Venezuela via St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

US attorney general Merrick Garland confirmed the plane’s seizure in a statement on September 2.

The US government says the plane was bought through a shell company in the Caribbean for Maduro’s use in violation of sanctions and export control laws.

The aircraft – a Dassault Falcon 900EX with tail number T7 ESPRT – was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to Florida.

Flight tracking data shows the plane landing at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at 11.28 am on September 2.

US officials described the French-built luxury jet with blue and red stripes and a white body as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One.

Garland said the plane was being used by “Maduro and his cronies.”

US officials say sometime between 2022 and early 2023, Maduro’s associates used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in buying the plane from a company in Florida.

The US alleges in April 2023, the plane, which was previously registered in the US and owned by Florida-based aeroplane brokerage company Six G Aviation, was flown to Venezuela via the Caribbean.

Officials claim the transaction was designed to dodge the executive order that forbids US citizens and companies from doing business with Venezuelan government representatives and select Maduro associates.

Maduro has been seen using the San Marino-registered jet for foreign travel, including trips to Guyana and Cuba.

There is also video footage of Maduro getting off the plane alongside his wife Cilia Flores and senior officials as they prepared for a day of discussions over a territory dispute between Venezuela and Guyana in SVG on December 14, 2023.

ABC New York also reported the plane was used in a prisoner swap deal in December 2023 in the Caribbean in which several Americans jailed in Venezuela were exchanged for Maduro’s ally, Alex Saab, who was imprisoned in the US on money laundering charges.

Flight tracking website www.flightradar24.com showed pictures of the jet at the Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil on May 29, 2023; China’s Beijing Capital International Airport on September 12, 2023; and at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport in Cuba on March 7.

US Homeland Security official Anthony Salisbury told reporters in Florida the Venezuelan-owned jet is being held concerning the sanctions violation and “other matters.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, HSI on the whole and its partners have the expertise, global reach and partnerships to impact anyone, including heads of state who think they’re untouchable.”

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

“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 US.”

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also quoted a spokesman for the White House national security council, who said the seizure of the aircraft was “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela.”

US attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe praised Dominican Republic authorities for their work and said they gave the US government “invaluable assistance” in organising the seizure.

US ramps up pressure on Venezuela

The seizure comes just weeks after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner in the July 28 presidential election without showing any detailed results.

The opposition insists its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González, beat Maduro by a wide margin with more than 80 per cent of vote tally sheets showing a loss for Maduro.

But the CNE says it cannot publish records of the results and has blamed hackers for allegedly corrupting the data.

Venezuelan prosecutors on September 2 sought an arrest warrant for Gonzalez on terrorism charges.

The public prosecutor’s office published a letter on social media, saying the charges stemmed from the opposition’s claims that Maduro stole the election.

The attorney general’s office said the court had accepted the request but did not share any documentation to support its statement.

The lack of transparency in the election has drawn international condemnation, with the European Union, US and several Latin American countries calling for transparency and refusing to recognise Maduro’s victory without seeing voting results.

The controversial result has led to unrest and a government crackdown during which more than 1,600 people have been detained, 27 people killed and 192 injured.

Maduro and his government have been the targets of US federal authorities for several years.

In 2020, the US Justice Department slapped Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials with corruption, narco-terrorism, and drug trafficking charges.

US authorities say they intend to pursue forfeiture of the plane as it seeks to cut off the Maduro regime’s access to money through the use of court judgments, seizures and freezing and liquidating bank accounts.

The state department has offered a reward of up to $15m for information leading to Mr Maduro’s arrest or conviction.

No comment from SVG

SVG Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves’s press secretary Shevrell McMillan told Newsday the administration has “No comment at the moment” when contacted on September 2.

He said Newsday should be able to get a comment on September 3.

Newsday also called Gonsalves and sent text messages to his cellphone but there was no response up until press time.

SVG shares close diplomatic relations with Venezuela and, like the majority of Caricom, has not severed ties with the South American state despite the US sanctions facing Maduro and his governmental colleagues.

Gonsalves hosted Maduro and Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali during SVG’s time as pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Gonsalves also extended congratulations to Maduro after the controversial July election results, saying the election has been adjudged by independent observers and the electoral process in Venezuela is “free, fair and transparent.

“…the reality on the ground is that Nicolas Maduro and the Bolivarian revolution have the support of the people of Venezuela and that is expressed yet again in this electoral victory.”

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister has not issued any formal message of congratulations to Maduro, instead only saying he was “happy” Venezuela had an election.

Speaking at a People’s National Movement function on August 2, Dr Rowley said Trinidad and Tobago will not be influenced by parties with their own agenda.

“We were happy that elections were held in Venezuela as we have a functioning embassy there and we get reports as to what the situation is in Venezuela. What we have to be careful with is that we don’t take advice from people whose agenda and interests are not the same as Trinidad and Tobago.”

Addressing the election result, Rowley said the government is “still listening.

“We have no barometer separate and apart from the government’s institution there. We maintain our position until there is reason to change it. We are not without some interest in what goes on in Venezuela. Whatever role we have to play, we will play in the context of our understanding of and confirmation of the rules and regulations that govern people’s internal elections.”

He warned that “outsiders” who attempt to forcibly interfere in Venezuela’s affairs are only asking for trouble.

“When the United States, Canada and the European Union decided to change the government in Venezuela by force, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Mexico, and Uruguay all took objection because a bad situation was about to get worse.

“We believe that, as we do believe now, that any attempt to forcibly change the government of Venezuela by outsiders is asking for trouble.”