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On March 18, the U.S. filed a “civil forfeiture” complaint against a Dassault Falcon 900EX, alleging it was smuggled into the U.S. under false pretenses and operated by Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro Moros and his representatives in violation of U.S. sanctions and export control laws.
The complaint was filed in the Southern District of Florida.
The Dominican Republic seized the aircraft, bearing tail number T7-ESPRT, in 2024 at the request of the U.S. It now is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The lawsuit alleges the business jet had been purchased and maintained in violation of U.S. sanctions against Maduro and his regime and saying the aircraft must be forfeited in violation of U.S. law, which include the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and money laundering statutes.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on certain individuals and entities in Venezuela since 2014 to address the increasing political and corruption by Maduro and his regime. In 2015, then-President Barack Obama said that the situation in Venezuela was an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy” of the U.S. In his first term, President Trump took additional steps, saying “in light of the continued usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro and persons affiliated with him, as well as human rights abuses, including arbitrary or unlawful arrest and detention of Venezuelan citizens, interference with freedom of expression, including for members of the media, and ongoing attempts to undermine Interim President Juan Guaido and the Venezuelan National Assembly’s exercise of legitimate authority in Venezuela.”
According to the U.N. and Human Rights Watch, more than 20,000 have been killed and more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have been forced to flee the country in one of the largest migration crises in the world. On June 27, 2024, International Criminal Court judges authorized the resumption of an investigation into alleged “crimes against humanity” in the country.
Separately, the U.S. Department of State has issued a $25 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, wanted for “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, conspiracy to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices to further a drug crime.” Maduro allegedly helped manage and lead the Cartel of the Suns, a drug-trafficking organization made up of high-ranking Venezuelan officials, where he negotiated multi-ton shipments of cocaine and other crimes.
Specifically, the March complaint alleges that in 2023, a “straw” company based in the Caribbean signed a contract to buy the Dassault Falcon 900EX from a company based in Florida for $13.25 million. The complaint alleges that the person in charge of buying the aircraft on behalf of the Caribbean-based company, formed shortly before the purchase, was a Venezuelan who concealed the fact that he was representing Maduro and his regime.
It also alleges that funds used to buy the aircraft had been sent through multiple wire transfers from different countries, including Malaysia, using U.S. dollars and euros and that the company used an email address with a domain from the UAE to correspond with the Florida-based seller even though the representatives had Spanish names.
Following the purchase, the aircraft was flown from Boca Raton, Florida, to St. Vincent in the Caribbean on April 3, 2023, and about five hours later, left for Caracas, Venezuela, piloted by two members of the Venezuelan Presidential Honor Guard and accompanied by a second aircraft that operates from a Venezuelan military base.
Since May 2023, the Falcon 900EX has flown to and from Venezuela 21 times. Maduro has been seen traveling with the aircraft on official visits, including in December 2023 for a prisoner exchange with the U.S.
In March 2024, the aircraft arrived in the Dominican Republic for maintenance and service using U.S. supplied parts, with the original Caribbean company saying that it was the owner and concealing the identity of Maduro and his regime.
In May 2024, Venezuelan individuals attempted to retrieve the aircraft from the Dominican Republic, which led to the U.S. government obtaining a seizure warrant. The aircraft was then flown back to the U.S. with cooperation from the Dominican Republic.
A second Dassault Falcon aircraft used by the sanctioned state-owned oil and natural gas company Petroleos de Venezuela, also had illegally been serviced in violation of U.S. sanctions. It was seized in the Dominican Republic at the request of the U.S. government in February 2025.
For its part, Venezuela calls the seizure illegal, while Maduro has called Dominican President Luis Abinader “a bandit, a thief,” over the action.
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