DOJ Seizes Maduro Private Jet Under Trump Sanctions

Republicans are celebrating former President Donald Trump’s Venezuelan sanctions as they continue being harnessed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to persecute Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and allies. 

Earlier this week, the DOJ announced it had successfully seized a private jet purchased and used by Dictator Maduro in the US, violating sanctions imposed on him in 2019 by President Trump.

Trump’s 2019 Executive Order 13884 prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons acting on behalf of Maduro’s regime, i.e., Venezuela’s government.

DOJ determined the private jet recently seized was purchased in South Florida by a Caribbean company created for the Venezuelan government to covertly purchase American goods. 

US Attorney General Merrick Garland alleged he “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.”

Republicans have characterized the private jet’s seizure as evidence that sanctions and diplomatic pressure are the path to achieving Maduro’s downfall and a Venezuelan Democratic transition. 

US Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) stated the seizure “is a direct result of the sanctions imposed on Maduro under the Trump administration." 

Conservatives have blamed President Joe Biden’s conciliatory approach towards Maduro as emboldening his regime. 

Earlier in the year, Biden lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gold sectors in exchange for assurances the country would be committed to holding fair elections.

Throughout the year, Maduro cashed in millions of dollars in oil exports to the US while increasing attacks on his political competition.

Namely, Maduro barred opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from facing him in the upcoming presidential elections.

After months of failed negotiations and domestic pressure, Biden ultimately renewed oil and gold sanctions.

Ultimately, Maduro manipulated vote counts during the last election, proclaimed himself winner despite abundant contradictory evidence, and has most recently issued arrest warrants for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.