The Trump administration is set to seize a second plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government, currently located in the Dominican Republic. The announcement of the seizure is expected to be made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Santo Domingo, the final stop of his Central America tour. The plane in question, a Dassault Falcon 200, has been utilized by Maduro and his top aides for international travel, allegedly in violation of U.S. sanctions.
To carry out the seizure, Rubio had to approve a foreign aid freeze waiver request to cover over $230,000 in storage and maintenance fees. The Department of Justice also had to give its approval for the operation. The waiver request was submitted and approved, with Rubio anticipated to make the announcement during a scheduled law enforcement engagement.
This move follows the previous seizure of another Maduro-linked plane from the Dominican Republic in September 2024. The Justice Department revealed that Maduro associates had used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal their involvement in the purchase of the plane, a Dassault Falcon 900EX valued at $13 million, from a Florida-based company.
In a related development, the State Department announced that Panama has agreed to allow U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal without charge. This decision comes after President Donald Trump's concerns about Chinese influence in the region and his desire to renegotiate the canal's terms. The agreement to waive transit fees for U.S. government vessels was reached during Rubio's recent visit to Panama, potentially saving millions of dollars annually for the U.S. government.
