US seizes second plane owned by Venezuelan government in Dominican Republic, citing evasion of sanctions

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.”

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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.

“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 Department’s National Security Division. 

“The Justice Department, along with its federal law enforcement partners, will continue to safeguard our national security by identifying, disrupting and dismantling schemes aimed at procuring American goods in violation of our sanctions and export control laws.” 

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Among its uses, the plane was allegedly used to take Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez, who is also sanctioned, to an OPEC meeting in the United Arab Emirates and has been used to transport senior members of the Maduro regime.

The aircraft was used in a continuation of the regime’s misappropriation of PdVSA assets, the DOJ said. 

In September, a plane owned by Maduro was also seized in the Dominican Republic. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) flew the Dassault Falcon 900EX back to the United States soon after. 

“Asset forfeiture is a powerful law enforcement tool, which we will continue to use aggressively to deter, disrupt and otherwise combat criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne.

Maduro began his third six-year term as president last month despite widespread skepticism over the legitimacy of his election victory. 

International and domestic critics question the fairness of the electoral process. Maduro claimed victory by more than 1 million votes. However, opposition candidate Edmundo González is widely believed to have won by a landslide.