An aircraft used by a state-owned Venezuelan natural gas company to evade U.S. sanctions and export control laws for the benefit of the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was seized in the Dominican Republic Thursday, authorities said.
The seizure of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural-gas company, came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Caribbean nation for talks with its president.
“The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used for evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our resolve to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable for its illegal actions,” Rubio wrote on X.
“With the Dominican Republic and our regional partners, we will continue to counteract any scheme to evade U.S. sanctions.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, listens to Edwin F. Lopez, the attaché for DHS Homeland Security Investigations, center, next to the Venezuelan government airplane that Rubio announced was being seized by the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The seizure stemmed from a 2019 executive order during President Donald Trump’s first term in office in an effort to prohibit American citizens from engaging in transactions with anyone who worked for or on behalf of PdVSA. In January 2020, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified 15 aircraft that fell under the order.
PdVSA bought the plane from the U.S. in July 2017 and exported it to Venezuela, where it was registered under tail number YV-3360, the Justice Department said.
Despite sanctions being levied on PdVSA, the plane was still serviced and maintained on multiple occasions using parts from the U.S., authorities said. The service included a brake assembly, electronic flight displays and flight management computers, all in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
A “seized” sign is placed on a Venezuelan government airplane during a press conference where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, announced its seizure at La Isabela International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“The use of American-made parts to service and maintain aircraft operated by sanctioned entities like PdVSA is intolerable,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice…
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