The Trump administration on Thursday seized a second aircraft linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the Dominican Republic on a Latin America tour.
Rubio watched as American officials affixed the seizure warrant to the Dassault Falcon 200 jet, which had been used by Maduro and top aides, including his vice president and defense minister, for international travel. The U.S. claims these trips, including visits to Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Cuba, violated American sanctions.
The seizure required Rubio to approve a waiver to a Trump-imposed foreign aid freeze to cover more than $230,000 in storage and maintenance fees, according to a State Department document obtained by The Associated Press.
The U.S. Justice Department also approved the action, citing the plane’s ties to a sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. An investigation found the aircraft was purchased in the U.S. in 2017, later sent to Venezuela, and serviced multiple times with American parts.
The move follows the September 2024 seizure of another Maduro-linked jet from the Dominican Republic. That aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX valued at $13 million, was allegedly purchased using a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal Venezuelan involvement, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The latest seizure comes a week after U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell met with Maduro in Caracas to discuss the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who illegally entered the United States. Grenell returned with six detained Americans.
Separately, Rubio addressed ongoing U.S.-Panama negotiations over transit fees for warships passing through the Panama Canal. He dismissed confusion over an agreement to waive the fees, acknowledging Panama must follow legal procedures.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denied claims that his government had agreed to eliminate the fees, contradicting a U.S. State Department statement. The issue has been a point of contention for President Donald Trump, who has threatened to reclaim control of the canal if Panama does not curb Chinese influence in the region.
AP
