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The US in September seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's airplane after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions. Now the Donald Trump administration is planning to seize a second plane belonging to Maduro's government, a
Dassault Falcon 200
that has been used by Maduro and top aides, reports claimed. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio intends to announce the seizure on Thursday during a visit to Santo Domingo, the last stop of his five-nation tour of Latin America, according to a US official familiar with the matter and a State Department document obtained by The Associated Press. The plane is currently in the Dominican Republic.
This plane has been used to travel the world including Greece, Turkey, Russia and Cuba -- in violations of US sanctions, Washington said.
The seizure of the plane comes just a week after President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, visited Caracas and met with Maduro to discuss the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who illegally entered the United States. Grenell returned with six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela.
Freeze waiver approved by administration
The seizure of Maduro's second plane would require Rubio signing off on a foreign aid freeze waiver request to pay more than $230,000 in storage and maintenance fees. It also required approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.
That waiver request, submitted early last week, has been approved and Rubio is expected to make the announcement at what the State Department has described publicly as only a “law enforcement engagement", the AP report said.
The seizure of the plane comes just a week after President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, visited Caracas and met with Maduro to discuss the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who illegally entered the United States. Grenell returned with six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela.
