US seizes Venezuelan government

7/2/2025 6:19

U.S. Secretary of State

Marco Rubio on Thursday oversaw the seizure of a Venezuelan

government plane in the Dominican Republic.



U.S. authorities had "determined that there is a basis to

file a civil forfeiture action to recover the aircraft, based on

violations of U.S. sanctions, export controls, and money

laundering," the State Department said in a statement.



It is the second Venezuelan plane that the United States has

seized in the Dominican Republic in recent months.



On Thursday, Rubio - on the last stop of his Latin American

tour this week - watched as a U.S. Department of Homeland

Security official affixed a warrant to the plane, formally

seizing it. The plane had been undergoing maintenance at a Santo

Domingo airport.



The State Department said high-ranking members of the

government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had used the

Dassault Falcon 200 aircraft for travel to Greece, Turkey,

Russia, Nicaragua and Cuba.



During his time as a U.S. Senator, Rubio, the son of

Cuban immigrants, advocated harsh sanctions on the government of

Maduro, an ally of the communist-run Cuban government. Rubio has

said this week that the U.S. does not recognize Maduro as

Venezuela's legitimate leader.



Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Richard

Grenell met with Maduro for talks and left Caracas with six

Americans who had been detained in Venezuela. He was also

pushing Venezuela to accept its nationals that the U.S. wants to

deport.



Maduro's government-backed victory in the July 2024 vote has

been contested by the opposition, international observers and

numerous countries, including the United States.