In a surprise and unusual escalation of Washington’s actions against Venezuela, the Unites States has seized President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane on allegations its acquisition was a violation of US sanctions.
The plane is a Dassault Falcon 900, estimated to have cost around $13 million, and was seized at an airport in the Dominican Republic. It had been in the country for several months for unknown reasons, where the US Department of Homeland Security began monitoring it.
Anonymous US officials have confirmed to several media outlets that they flew the aircraft, which serves as the equivalent of Venezuela’s Air Force One, to Florida on Monday.
Maduro had frequently used to make state visits around the world. For the past multiple years he has enjoyed closer ties with Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Damascus, and other nations deemed ‘pariah’ states by Washington.
A Biden administration official said to CNN that is is largely about sending a strong ‘message’ to Maduro and other countries …