Marco Rubio confisca the Delcy Rodríguez plane in the Dominican Republic

The government of Donald Trump He announced Thursday that he has confiscated a plane from the Venezuelan authorities in the Dominican Republic for the violation of the US sanctions previously filed to the executive of Nicolás Maduro, which constitutes the second action of this type carried out by Washington in recent months.

The secretary of the US Department of State Marco Rubio, that is located in the Dominican Republic, where he has supervised confiscation, he has assured that together with his regional partners it will continue to “counteract any plan to evade US sanctions.”

«The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used to evade the American sanctions And money laundering is a powerful example of our determination to demand accounts to the illegitimate regime of Maduro for his illegal actions, ”he said through his profile in the social network X.

The US Department of Justice has indicated through a statement that it is an aircraft ‘Dassault Falcon 2000ex’which had been used by the sanctioned Venezuelan State Company of Petroleum and Natural Gas (PDVSA), and whose maintenance and service “was carried out illegally using imported pieces from the United States.” It was also used by the Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez and his brother Jorge.

Other senior Chavista positions who used it were the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, and the deputy and former president of PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo.

«The use of parts manufactured in the United States to repair and maintain aircraft operated by sanctioned entities such as PDVSA It is intolerable, ”said the head of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, Devin Debacker.

Trump issued in 2019 an executive order that, among other things, prohibited American citizens from carrying out transactions with people who act directly or indirectly for PDVSA, after which the treasure identified 15 aircraft as blocked property.

Second plane confiscated to Venezuela

According to the investigation, PDVSA bought the plane to the United States in 2017 and exported it to Venezuela. After the imposition of sanctions on the company and the identification of the ‘Dassault Falcon 2000Ex’ as blocked property, The aircraft was repaired and maintained on multiple occasions using the United States pieces, such as brakes, flight screens and flight management computers.

In addition, it would have transported, among others, the then Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum, Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernández (2017-2020), which is also sanctioned by US authorities, to a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to United Arab Emirates.

At the beginning of September 2024, Washington confiscated the plane of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who was requisitioned in the Dominican Republic since the beginning of this year, claiming that it was acquired and has operated against the sanctions, to which Caracas responded by denouncing the American “piracy.”