U.S. Seizes Venezuelan ‘Air Force One’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's Dassault 900 EX was flown by officials from the Dominican Republic to Florida.

Tuesday, September 03, 2024 at 12:49 PM ET

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The Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft was illegally exported from the U.S. and used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, according to the Justice Department. [Courtesy: U.S. Department of Justice]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. government seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's Dassault 900 EX jet, alleging sanctions violations and illegal purchase through a shell company.
The $13 million business jet, used by Maduro as his "Air Force One," was flown by American officials from the Dominican Republic to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Department of Justice stated the aircraft was illegally purchased from a South Florida company and smuggled out of the United States.
The plane was registered as T7-ESPRT under the registry of San Marino, a country known for allowing aircraft registration to anyone from a "non-blacklisted country" with a resident agent.

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The U.S. government has seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s Dassault 900 EX for alleged sanctions violations.

The big business jet, which Maduro reportedly used as his version of “Air Force One,” was flown by American officials from the Dominican Republic to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“This morning, the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was 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 Garland said in a DOJ news release on Monday.

DOJ said the plane was bought from an unnamed South Florida company. It is registered as T7-ESPRT, which is under the registry of the tiny landlocked country of San Marino, which is an independent state surrounded entirely by Italy in the northeastern area of the country. Registration data was not available from the San Marino authority.

San Marino allows anyone from a “non-blacklisted country” to register an aircraft as long as they have a resident agent in the tiny country.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.