Authorities monitor a second plane linked to Maduro

After the news was released The United States seized an aircraft belonging to Nicolás Maduro, Authorities in the Dominican Republic are monitoring a second plane linked to the leftist leader 24 hours a dayaccording to a source with knowledge of the matter who spoke with CNN.

The source did not specify details about the model or make of the plane or whether a request had been made to ground the aircraft, the outlet reported.

United States seizes Maduro’s plane

The US Department of Justice confirmed on Monday the Seizure of the Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, owned by Nicolás Maduro and people affiliated with himbased on violations of sanctions against Venezuela.

The aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to Florida for having been illegally purchased for $13 million “through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement after the information was leaked by CNN.

According to the investigation, in late 2022 and early 2023, individuals affiliated with Maduro allegedly used a shell company based in the Caribbean to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of the aircraft from a company based in the Southern District of Florida.

Then, The aircraft was illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023 and has since flown “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela and has been used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, including to transport Maduro on visits to other countries.”

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s Miami Field Office is investigating the case, along with the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami El Dorado Task Force.

Although the United States said the operation had the assistance of the country’s authorities, Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said on Monday that the government did not participate in the investigation which led to the confiscation in Santo Domingo of the plane used by Maduro.

“Neither the Dominican government nor the Public Prosecutor’s Office have participated in the United States investigation process. International legal cooperation was only required and since the indicated norms were complied with and the respective court orders were obtained, the Public Prosecutor’s Office complied with what was ordered by the courts,” Álvarez told reporters. “The aircraft was in Dominican territory for maintenance purposes,” he added.