In a written statement made by the US Department of Justice, it was stated that the plane that Maduro usually uses for his foreign travels was seized. The ministry argued that the plane was purchased through a shell company and flown out of the US, circumventing sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The plane flew to Florida today, CNN International quoted two US officials as saying. The seizure reportedly took place in the Dominican Republic.
The seizure of the plane, which Maduro is said to have used as a “presidential plane”, in the Dominican Republic is expected to put a new burden on relations between the US and Venezuela, which have been strained since the elections.
According to the results announced in Venezuela on July 29, Maduro won the presidential election for the third time with 51.20 percent of the vote. Opposition coalition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rejected the election results.
The US administration, on the other hand, claimed that the election results were not announced transparently and argued that the results did not reflect the will of the people.
