if your government is under sanctions and you're flying a $13 million jet you might want to think twice this desault Falcon 900 ex allegedly bought from Maduro was seized in the Dominican Republic and flown to Florida according to attorney general Merrick Garland the aircraft was illegally purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the US violating 2019 sanctions these sanctions prohibit US citizens from selling to entities linked to maduro's government fought between late 2022 and early 2023 the jet was mainly used for military flights in Venezuela and maduro's international trips Venezuela's government slammed the seizure as piracy sanctions on Venezuela have been in place since 2005 and were significantly expanded under former president Donald Trump while President Biden relaxed some sanctions to encourage free elections many were reinstated due to ongoing violations it's remarkable how the US maintains its focus on intervening in other countries Internal Affairs even while engaged in two Wars