Nicolás Maduro calls Dominican president a "thief" after U.S. seizes official jet in Santo Domingo

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday described the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, as a “thief” and “bandit,” after the United States confiscated his official jet in a seizure operation carried out on the Caribbean island.

In an event broadcast on Venezuelan state television, Maduro accused Abinader, with the cooperation of local officials, of making it easier for U.S. authorities to seize the plane.

"They left me without a plane,” he complained. The president of the Dominican Republic, (Luis) Abinader, is a bandit, a thief," the Venezuelan dictator exclaimed.

He also maintained that he is “very aware” of the U.S. presidential debate between candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, and that, if “the plane had not been stolen in the Dominican Republic,” he would travel to the United States.

“The Dominican people will pay their bill in due time… I can't go to the debate, I'm sorry,” he added.

The plane, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, was confiscated on Sept. 2 by the U.S. Justice Department for violating U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and was subsequently transferred to Florida.

Maduro said Venezuela reserves the right to take legal action to address the situation and reiterated his opposition to U.S. sanctions.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the plane is valued at $13 million and was illegally acquired through a shell company and smuggled out of the U.S. for use by Maduro and his inner circle.

The investigation revealed that between late 2022 and early 2023, people affiliated with Maduro used a shell company based in the Caribbean to hide their participation in the illegal purchase of the plane from a company located in South Florida.

The plane was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023 and has since flown “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela and has been used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, including to transport Maduro on visits to other countries.”

Commerce Dept. Asst. Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod noted that this seizure is intended to send “a clear message” that the aircraft acquired “illegally” from the United States for “the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials They can't just disappear.