Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday called his Dominican counterpart Luis Abinader a “thief” after The United States confiscated the president’s official plane in an operation that took place on the Caribbean island.
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“They left me without a plane, the thief of the president of the Dominican Republic, (Luis) Abinader, who is a bandit, a thief,” said Maduro in a televised event, after expressing, ironically, his desire to attend the US presidential debate between candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The Dominican people will give him their due at the right time (to Abinader), don’t give me the face of saying I didn’t do it, I spoke with him a lot (…) face to face. So I can’t go to the debate, I’m sorry.
The Venezuelan president said he is “very attentive” to the presidential debate, which is taking place this Tuesday, and that if “his plane had not been stolen in the Dominican Republic,” he would travel to the United States.
“The Dominican people will hold him accountable at the right time (to Abinader), don’t give me the face of ‘I didn’t do it’, I spoke with him a lot (…) face to face. So I can’t go to the debate, I’m sorry,” he added.
How was the operation in the Dominican Republic?
On September 2, the United States Department of Justice reported that the confiscation of Maduro’s official plane in an operation he carried out in the Dominican Republic, based on violations of the sanctions imposed on the oil-producing nation.
Through a statement, the US government confirmed the information previously leaked by CNN and announced the seizure of a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, “owned by Nicolás Maduro and people affiliated with him in Venezuela, which was operated on his behalf.”
The aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic with the assistance of the country’s authorities and transferred to Florida (United States) for having been “illegally purchased” for $13 million (about 11.7 million euros) “through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies”Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.
In response, the Venezuelan government announced that it will reserve the right to take legal action to “repair” the damage caused by the confiscation of this aircraft.
According to the investigation, in late 2022 and early 2023, individuals affiliated with Maduro allegedly used a shell company based in the Caribbean to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of the aircraft from a company based in the Southern District of Florida.
The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023 and has since flown “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela and has been used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, including to transport Maduro on visits to other countries.”
In August 2019, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order prohibiting citizens of your country from engaging in transactions with persons who have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland added last week that the Department will continue to pursue those who violate sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using U.S. resources “to undermine U.S. national security.”
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