diabolical
Pre-Flight
Exclusive: US seizes Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane in the Dominican Republic — CNN
The United States has seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions, among other criminal issues. The US flew the aircraft to Florida on Monday, according to two US officials.
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The US seized Venezuelan “President” Maduro’s official state plane in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida!!!
Nice shot across the bow to a Banana Republic despot dictator who has run Venezuela into the dirt. The current government is so corrupt that Venezuelans are heading for the border in record levels. If they had an honest election and had replaced Maduro then the country would be one of the more successful in South America. Their oil business was very successful until the current leader and his cronies ran it for themselves and turned a wealthy country into one headed in a downward spiral. It appears that Maduro was losing the latest elections until all of a sudden he ordered to counting stopped and declared himself the winner again.
Hopefully this may lead towards regime change for their country. It’s been a sad story that hasn’t had much play outside of South Florida where many of the Venezuelan exiles and refugees ended up.
Maybe now the people will be able to start seeing an end to some of the corruption!
For example
Cliff’s Notes version
The situation in Venezuela has had implications for US politics as millions flee the country, many of whom have chosen to migrate to the US-Mexico border.
For years, US officials have sought to disrupt the flow of billions of dollars to the regime. Homeland Security Investigations — the second largest investigative agency in the federal government — has seized dozens of luxury vehicles, among other assets, heading to Venezuela.
In March 2020, the US Department of Justice charged Maduro, together with 14 current and former Venezuelan officials, with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption.
In 2017, two nephews of Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores were sentenced to 18 years in prison by a federal court in New York City for trying to smuggle up to 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States on a private jet; the two were later released by the United States in a prisoners’ exchange in 2022.
“We see these officials and the Maduro regime basically fleecing the Venezuelan people for their own gain,” the US official said. “You have people who can’t even afford a loaf of bread there and then you have the president of Venezuela jetting around in a high-class private jet.”