U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the confiscation of a Venezuelan government aircraft at Joaquín Balaguer International Airport (El Higüero) in the Dominican Republic. This marks the second plane linked to Nicolás Maduro’s regime that U.S. authorities have seized in the country, following a similar action last year under President Joe Biden.
To finalize the seizure, Rubio signed a waiver request lifting a foreign aid freeze to cover over $230,000 in storage and maintenance fees, with approval from the Justice Department. The confiscated aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 200, had been used by Maduro and top officials, including his vice president and defense minister, for international travel to sanctioned countries like Russia, Turkey, and Cuba.
The seizure follows a visit by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, to Caracas, where he met with Maduro to negotiate the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. Grenell returned with six detained Americans from Venezuela. (https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2025/02/07/u-s-confiscates-venezuelan-government-plane-at-dominican-airport/)
