“The Justice Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for US$13 million through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolas Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 showed that the jet flew from Santo Domingo to Fort Lauderdale on Monday morning.

Venezuela’s government on Monday slammed the seizure as “piracy”.

“Once again, the authorities of the United States of America are engaged in a criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy,” the foreign ministry in Caracas said in a statement.

Since May 2023, the plane has flown almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela.

Anthony Salisbury, special agent in charge at the Homeland Security Investigations Miami office, said “this plane was predominantly utilised by Nicolas Maduro on numerous state visits”.