The United States has seized T7-ESPRT (msn 007), a Dassault Aviation Falcon 900EX used as the presidential jet for Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s commander in chief, the United States Department of Justice revealed. The aircraft was ferried from Santo Domingo La Isabela to Fort Lauderdale Executive on September 2.

The San Marino-registered bizjet had been grounded in the Dominican Republic after which it was transferred to the Southern District of Florida. It is not clear why it came to be in the Dominican Republic.

Attorney General Merrick B Garland explained the seizure by saying that the airframe was illegally purchased in 2022 via a shell company for USD13 million and smuggled out of the United States for use by Maduro and his regime.

"It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials - we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States," added Matthew S Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the US Department of Commerce.

The Venezuelan government responded in a statement that the US had illegally confiscated the aircraft "justifying itself with the coercive measures that it unilaterally and illegally imposes around the world," the BBC reported.

According to the US investigation, individuals affiliated to the Maduro regime allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company in late 2022 and early 2023 to conceal their involvement in the purchase of the Dassault Falcon. It was exported to Venezuela in April 2023, and since May of that year has flown almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela "and has been used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives."

It is the second aircraft used by the Venezuelan government that the US authorities have seized in recent years. Between 2022 and 2024, the DOJ alongside the Argentine government seized and scrapped a B747-300M operated by Emtrasur Cargo (Caracas Simón Bolivar), a freighter branch of Venezuelan state-owned Conviasa. The US government argued that the aircraft had been transferred from Mahan Air to Emtrasur in violation of US export control laws.

A new presidential jet

However, Venezuelan aircraft spotters signal that the Maduro-led government already has a new presidential jet, a Bombardier Aerospace Global 6000, T7-102X (msn 9476). This airframe was ferried to Caracas Simón Bolivar between July 2 and 3 from Lyon Grenoble Alpes Isère via Geneva and Antigua, ADS-B data shows. It has since operated several flights between Caracas and Porlamar.

T7-102X was formerly N711LS, owned by TVPX ARS INC TRUSTEE, a subsidiary of TVPX Aircraft Registration Service LLC. On March 13, 2024, it was deregistered from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database and exported to San Marino.