The Justice Department announced on February 6 that authorities in the Dominican Republic seized a Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. The seizure was carried out at the request of the U.S. government for violations of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida emphasized the significance of the seizure, stating, “Asset forfeiture is a powerful law enforcement tool, which we will continue to use aggressively to deter, disrupt, and otherwise combat criminal activity.”
According to the U.S. investigation, PdVSA purchased the aircraft in July 2017 from the United States and registered it in Venezuela under tail number YV-3360. Despite being identified as blocked property under U.S. sanctions, the aircraft continued to receive maintenance and servicing using American-made parts, including a brake assembly, electronic flight displays, and flight management computers, in violation of export control laws.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) previously identified 15 PdVSA-owned aircraft as blocked property following Executive Order 13884, issued by President Trump in August 2019. Since at least January 2019, the Dassault Falcon 2000EX has reportedly been used to transport Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez, who is also sanctioned by the U.S. government, to an OPEC meeting in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft has also been used by senior members of Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Kevin J. Kurland, Acting Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce, stated that the seizure “clearly shows that sanctions and export control laws have teeth.” Edwin F. Lopez, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Santo Domingo Country Attaché, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to preventing violations of U.S. laws that protect national security.
The Justice Department previously announced in September 2024 the seizure of another Venezuelan aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, in the Dominican Republic.
The case is being investigated by the BIS Miami Field Office with assistance from HSI Santo Domingo. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorge Delgado and Joshua Paster, along with Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are handling the matter. The United States acknowledged the Dominican Republic’s cooperation in the seizure.
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