Miami, United States. – The Foreign Minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, described this Friday as a “condemnable and arbitrary act of modern piracy” the recent confiscation of a Venezuelan plane by order of the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio.
The aircraft, owned by the state company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), was confiscated in the Dominican Republic and will be in custody of the US Department of Justice. However, the Cuban statement omits the fact that the aircraft was linked to operations of the Nicolás Maduro regime, questioned by the international community.
In his account of the social network X, Rodríguez Parrilla denounced that Rubio’s decision violates international law and the United Nations Charter. “[EE.UU.] aims to become the Sheriff from Latin America and the Caribbean, ”said Cuban Foreign Minister.
For his part, the chancellor of the Venezuelan regime, Yván Gil, shared in Telegram a statement in which he accused Washington of committing “a repeat criminal practice, which cannot be qualified as anything other than piracy.”
The US Department of State said the aircraft had been used by regime officials Nicolás Maduro For trips to Greece, Türkiye, Russia, Nicaragua and Cuba. In January 2024, the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic to receive maintenance and was mainly used by the vice president of Cy Rodríguez for diplomatic activities.
Rubio himself placed the official confiscation notices on the aircraft, which remains in Hangars de Santo Domingo until he can be transferred to the United States.
“The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used to evade US sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our determination to demand accounts to the illegitimate regime of Maduro for its illegal actions,” The Secretary of State wrote in his X account.
This is the second aircraft linked to Chavismo that USA confesses in the Dominican Republic. In September 2023, another Falcon, registration T7-EsprT, was delivered to US authorities. According to the US attorney general, Merrick B. Garland, that plane “had been bought illegally for 13 million dollars through a ghost company and brought from smuggling from the United States to be used by Nicolás Maduro and his henchmen” .
Also, in 2023, Washington confiscated a Boeing 747-300m of the Venezuelan state airline Emrasur Position, after a long diplomatic conflict between Venezuela and Argentina. The plane had been arrested in 2022 with Venezuelan and Iranian crew, who were investigated for alleged links with the financing of terrorism, although they were later released by lack of evidence.
