Caracas, 02 Sep. AVN.- United States (US) government authorities seized the plane of President Nicolás Maduro in the Dominican Republic on Monday, Sputnik reported.
“Seizing the plane of a foreign head of state is unprecedented. We want to send a clear message that no one is above the law and American sanctions,” an unnamed US official told CNN, TASS reported.
The television network highlighted that the incident represents an escalation in the already “cold relations” between the United States and Venezuela.
He also said that the plane was headed to the state of Florida, in the southeastern part of the United States.
The United States argues that the ship was acquired to evade sanctions.
According to TASS, officials from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, among others, participated in the operation.
The aircraft, valued at around 13 million dollars, had been in the Dominican Republic for the past few months, the agency said.
