FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The U.S. has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought it to a South Florida airport.
CNN, which broke the story, reports that officials determined it was acquired in violation of sanctions placed against Venezuela.
According to CNN, the plane — the South American country’s equivalent to Air Force One — had been in the Dominican Republic. CNN reports that multiple federal agencies were involved in seizing the $13 million Dassault Falcon 900.
Authorities brought it to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. They told Local 10 News it was purchased last year from a Florida company for $13 million dollars and exported, illegally, through the Caribbean to Venezuela.
“The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Monday.
Related: How Maduro’s administration works around U.S. sanctions, according to prosecutors
The US has recently pressured the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release data on its presidential election, in which Maduro claimed victory by over 1 million votes.
An electoral official in the country recently denounced a “grave lack of transparency and veracity” in the results.
Opposition leaders and foreign governments have stated that the July 28 election lacked credibility; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is “overwhelming evidence” that opposition candidate Edmundo González was the actual winner.
“Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Department of Commerce said in a statement. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States.”
HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury echoed that sentiment while speaking to Local 10 News on Monday.
He said it shows that the U.S. will “take action against anyone, including heads of state, who think they’re untouchable.”
Venezuela can fight the seizure through the forfeiture process.