United States seizes Venezuelan for aircraft export law violation

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department seized a Venezuelan aircraft Thursday for violating U.S. export control and sanctions laws over U.S. parts used to service the plane.

The jet was operated by Petroleos de Venezuela, the country's state-owned oil and natural-gas company, the Justice Department said in a statement.

"The use of American-made parts to service and maintain aircraft operated by sanctioned entities like PdVSA is intolerable," said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

"The Justice Department, along with its federal law enforcement partners, will continue to safeguard our national security by identifying, disrupting and dismantling schemes aimed at procuring American goods in violation of our sanctions and export control laws."

During his first presidency, President Donald Trump in 2019 signed an executive order barring the United States from engaging in transactions with people acting on behalf of Petroleos de Venezuela. The plane was serviced and underwent maintenance on multiple occasions using parts from the United States, in violation of the order, officials said.

"The servicing included a brake assembly, electronic flight displays and flight management computers: all in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws," the Justice Department release said.

According to the Treasury Department, the plane carried Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez to a meeting of OPEC in violation of Trump's executive order. Fernandez is also sanctioned by the United States.

The plane has also been used to transport senior members of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro regime in what the U.S. calls a continuation of the regime's misappropriation of PdVSA assets.

"The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used for evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our resolve to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable for its illegal actions," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.

"With the Dominican Republic and our regional partners, we will continue to counteract any scheme to evade U.S. sanctions.

The first Trump administration applied a so-called maximum pressure campaign on Venezuela that heavily relied on sanctions in a failed effort to unseat Marduo after his widely discredited 2018 election.