For several years now, multiple U.S. administrations have imposed strict economic sanctions against the corrupt socialist regime in Venezuela, and this week the U.S. government took extreme action to punish alleged violations of those sanctions.

On Monday, U.S. government agents seized control of a luxury private business jet allegedly used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as his equivalent of an "Air Force One" presidential aircraft, according to aviation news outlet AvWeb.

The French-built and U.S.-finished Dassault Falcon 900EX jet, which was reportedly purchased by the Maduro regime from a U.S. seller in Florida through a shell company and registered in the tiny European nation of San Marino, was seized at an airport in the Dominican Republic and flown into U.S. custody in Fort Lauderdale.

Maduro's private jet seized

A Department of Justice press release to announce the seizure explained that a Caribbean-based shell company linked to Venezuela's socialist government purchased the luxury Dassault Falcon jet from a U.S. seller in South Florida in 2022 or 2023 and then illegally exported it to Venezuela where it has been used almost exclusively at a Venezuelan military base to transport President Maduro and other regime officials, including to other countries.

That appears to violate a 2019 executive order signed by then-President Donald Trump, E.O. 13884, that effectively barred the sale or transfer of any U.S.-based property to any individual or entity connected to the Maduro regime as a sanction against a litany of alleged crimes, corruption, and human rights abuses.

"This morning, the Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States."

"The United States’ seizure of the Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft illustrates our unrelenting commitment to enforcing U.S. export control laws and imposing U.S. sanctions for any violations," U.S. Attorney for Southern Florida Markenzy Lapointe said. "This successful seizure was the result of planning, coordination, and execution by the United States government, with invaluable assistance by the authorities in the Dominican Republic. Our office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to work to forfeit this plane and all other assets that circumvent the law."

The U.S. Commerce Department was also involved in the seizure, and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said, "Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset. It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials -- we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States."

Maduro regime accuses U.S. of criminality and "piracy" following seizure

The Venezuelan government was predictably outraged over the seizure of the private jet allegedly used by President Maduro and top regime officials and leveled accusations of aggressive foreign policy and illegalities against the U.S. government, according to CNN.

"Once again, the authorities of the USA, in a recurring criminal practice that could not be labeled anything but piracy, have illegally seized an aircraft that has been used by the president of the Republic, justifying its action in coercive measures that, illegally and unilaterally, they impose around the world," the Venezuelan government said in a statement.

"The United States has already demonstrated that it uses its economic and military power to intimidate and pressure states such as the Dominican Republic to serve as accomplices in its criminal acts," the statement added. "This is an example of the supposed 'rules-based order,' which, disregarding international law, seeks to establish the law of the strongest."

Dominican government cooperated but was otherwise uninvolved in seizure

CNN further reported that according to Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez, an order had been issued by a national court in May at the request of the U.S. to "immobilize" the Venezuelan-owned private jet, which had been parked at the airport at the capital of Santo Domingo for maintenance work since March.

The Dominican official insisted that his country played no role in the investigation but cooperated in the seizure because of the requirements of bilateral agreements with the U.S. An unnamed high-level Dominican official also told the outlet that the nation was unaware that the private jet belonged to President Maduro until it was seized and that his nation promptly notified Venezuela of what had occurred.

The apparent impetus for the seizure at this time is the disputed re-election in July of Maduro, who claimed victory even as it had initially appeared that he had lost by a wide margin to an opposition candidate before the vote counting was suddenly stopped and all election-related data was made secret by the regime.