(NewsNation) — The U.S. government seizing a luxury jet used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro sends a ‘clear message’ that Homeland Security Investigations and its partners “have the expertise and the worldwide reach to impact change, impact action on anybody, including foreign heads of states that think they’re untouchable,” the HSI special agent in charge of Miami told NewsNation.
“This is a long-standing investigation against the Maduro regime and even the Chávez, regime before that,” Anthony Salisbury, HSI Miami special agent in charge, said in an interview. “So we’re no strangers to this.”
Government officials say the Dassault Falcon 900EX was purchased in a way that violated sanctions and export control laws.
In late 2022 and early 2023, Maduro’s associates used a Caribbean-based company to hide their involvement in buying the plane, which was valued at the time at $13 million, from another company in Florida, U.S. officials said. This plane was then taken from the U.S. to Venezuela, through the Caribbean in a transaction meant to circumvent an executive order barring American citizens from conducting business with representatives of Maduro’s government.
Through behind-the-scenes planning from the Department of Homeland Security, agents were able to get the plane back. It flew to the Dominican Republic for what was believed to be a maintenance issue; that’s when Homeland Security was able to move in and take control of the plane. After checking it out to make sure the jet was able to fly safely, they flew it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Venezuela’s government said in a statement that the U.S. government’s move is a “a repeated criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy.”
This isn’t the only action the United States has taken against Venezuela. NewsNation learned that the U.S. has taken $2 billion in goods over the last several years, and there have been dozens of indictments of people in Maduro’s regime. Items taken include luxury cars, luxury watches and even racehorses connected to Maduro.