Another plane linked to Venezuela’s Maduro is under investigation in the Dominican Republic

By Jessica Hasbun, CNNE

(CNN) — A second plane linked to Venezuelan strongman President Nicolas Maduro is being investigated in the Dominican Republic, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

This second plane, a Dassault Falcon 2000 registration number YV3360, is similar to the aircraft seized by authorities in the United States on Monday, and it appears on a US Treasury list of sanctioned goods belonging to Maduro.

Both planes were sent to Santo Domingo for maintenance in recent months, the source told CNN.

The plane seized by US authorities on Monday had been described by officials as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One and was pictured in previous state visits by Maduro around the world.

It was seized after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions, among other criminal issues. The US flew the aircraft to Florida on Monday, according to two US officials.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that “the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies.”

The Venezuelan government described the first Falcon’s seizure as “piracy” in a statement on Monday, and accused Washington of escalating “aggression” toward Maduro’s government following a contested presidential election this July.

The Dominican Republic’s President, Luis Abinader, said the plane seized Monday was not registered under the name of the Venezuelan government but rather under “the name of an individual.”

The country’s Attorney General’s Office received an order last May from a national court to “immobilize” the plane, according to the Dominican Republic’s foreign minister, Roberto Álvarez. The US had requested it be immobilized so they could search it for “evidence and objects linked to fraud activities, smuggling of goods for illicit activities and money laundering,” he said.

Monday’s seizure in the Dominican Republic marked an escalation as the US continues to investigate what it regards as corrupt practices by Venezuela’s government.

“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” one of the US officials told CNN. “Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions.”

It also comes as the US recently placed pressure on the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release specific data regarding its presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of Maduro’s claimed victory in the recent presidential election.

Venezuela’s opposition has published more than 80% of tallies printed and collected from voting machines across the country. Though partial, the documentation appears to show that the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia actually won the vote, several experts told CNN.

Previous reporting contributed by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez.

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