The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has designated three firms with offices in multiple countries for the alleged smuggling of US-origin aircraft parts to sanctioned entities controlled by the Venezuelan government.
The export restrictions were imposed on the following companies:
- Aerofalcon S.L., a Spanish aircraft parts broker,
- Novax Group S.A., a company with offices in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, and Russia, and
- Zero Waste Global SA with offices in Panama and Venezuela.
"These entities were used by their principals to circumvent US sanctions, supplying the representatives of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela with US-origin aircraft parts. This circumvention was conducted by, among other efforts, concealing the true end user and end destination of the exports using misrepresentations and fraudulent documents, including the filing of false Electronic Export Information," the BIS said.
Each of the designated entities will now be subject to export permit review with a presumption of denial.
Despite the recent easing of the restrictions, Conviasa (V0, Caracas Simón Bolivar) and 55 Venezuelan-registered aircraft remain on the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list.
