The United States seizes Nicolás Maduro’s airplane

The United Justice Department has announced the seizure of a Dassault Falcon 900EX owned and operated for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

According to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, the airplane was allegedly purchased for 13 million US dollars and smuggled outside the United States through a shell company.

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“The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States”, Garland declared, as quoted by the Justice Department website.

Matthew S. Axelrod, from the Department of Commerce, stated the following: “Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset”.

According to CNN, the airplane was Venezuela’s equivalent of Air Force One, which Maduro used to travel around the globe.

The airplane was seized by US authorities in Dominican Republic and subsequently sent to Miami, Florida, in what CNN describes as the latest development in the tense relations between Washington, D.C, and Caracas.

“Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters”, one US government official declared to CNN. “We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions.”

Reuters highlights that the aircraft seizure occurred as Maduro faces pressure at home and abroad over the outcome of the Venezuelan presidential elections.

Maduro and his government claim to have won Venezuela’s presidential elections, which took place on July 28, despite the lack of corresponding tallies to back their claim.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan opposition, de facto led by Maria Corina Machado, has presented evidence showing the victory of Edmundo González, Maduro’s main rival during the election.

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Could this be another sign of the increasing isolation of Maduro and his allies, in the face of international sanctions?