In a move being described as an “escalation,” a new report claimed that America made its most aggressive move yet against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
In an exclusive report, CNN reported that the U.S. has seized an airplane of Maduro’s, for a litany of reasons.
One key issue outlined is that the U.S. government feels that the airplane’s “acquisition was in violation of U.S. sanctions, among other criminal issues.”
“It’s the latest development in what has long been a frosty relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela,” CNN noted. “[A]nd its seizure in the Dominican Republic marks an escalation as the U.S. continues to investigate what it regards as corrupt practices by Venezuela’s government.”
Citing one of the two U.S. officials who spoke to the outlet, one source made clear to CNN that this move was explicitly meant to send a message.
“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” the source 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 U.S. sanctions.”
The report also noted that this isn’t some random plane that the U.S. has collected.
“The plane has been described by officials as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One,” CNN reported.
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The two U.S. officials told CNN that the plane, which was seized in the Dominican Republic, was flown to Florida on Monday.
(Multiple agencies, including the Homeland Security and the Justice Department, as well as the Dominican Republic government, were involved in this.)
“One of the next steps, upon arriving to the U.S., will be pursuing forfeiture, meaning the Venezuelan government has a chance to petition for it, and collecting evidence from the aircraft,” according to CNN.
The issues between the governments of the U.S. and Venezuela are hardly anything new, and it hasn’t mattered which party is controlling the White House.
While this latest “escalation” comes at the behest of the President Joe Biden administration, Maduro had been a well-documented thorn in the side of former President Donald Trump, as well.
In fact, as recently as 2020, Trump’s Department of Justice made the incredibly rare move of bringing criminal charges against Maduro and several other senior Venezuelan officials for working to flood America with illicit drugs.
More recently, Maduro’s leadership has come under intense scrutiny for reasons other than drugs.
The recent July election in Venezuela has caused prominent voices — including rare agreement between X owner Elon Musk and the current presidential administration — to effectively (or outright in Musk’s case) accuse Maduro of election fraud.
Major election fraud by Maduro https://t.co/fi4xcSVd2Y
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2024
And that’s to say nothing of Venezuela’s contributions to America’s ongoing illegal immigration crisis, largely exacerbated by the poor living conditions of Venezuelans — many of whom are trying to flee to other countries.
