The administration of US President Donald Trump seized a second plane belonging to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last night. The aircraft is currently in the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently visiting the capital of the island nation of Santo Domingo, personally watched as US officials affixed the seizure order to the plane.
The seizure requires Rubio to sign an exemption from the freeze that President Donald Trump has imposed on foreign aid to pay more than $230,000 in storage and maintenance fees, according to a State Department document cited by the Associated Press. Approval from the US Department of Justice was also required.
The plane is a “Dassault Falcon 200“, which has been used by Maduro and senior officials in his government, including his vice president and defense secretary, for trips around the world, including to Greece, Turkey, Russia and Cuba, which Washington says violates US sanctions, the State Department said in a statement.
The seizure of the plane comes just a week after President Donald Trump's special envoy for foreign affairs, Richard Grenell, visited Caracas and met with Maduro to discuss the repatriation of Venezuelan citizens who entered the US illegally. Grenell returned with six Americans detained in Venezuela.
The US seized another Maduro plane from the Dominican Republic in September 2024. The US Department of Justice then reported that in late 2022 and early 2023, Maduro associates used a shell company to hide their involvement in the purchase of the aircraft – – – – Dassault Falcon 900 E Ex–, valued at $13 million – from a company in Florida.
/ВТ/
Source: www.bta.bg