https://arab.news/5bp4d
- The administration of President Nicolas Maduro also accused the US and Argentine governments of 鈥渃ollusion鈥� and of violating civil aeronautics regulations 鈥渁s well as the commercial, civil and political rights鈥� of Emtrasur
WASHINGTON: The US government has seized a Boeing 747 cargo plane that officials say was previously sold by a sanctioned Iranian airline to a state-owned Venezuelan firm in violation of American export control laws.
The Justice Department said Monday that the American-built plane had arrived in Florida and would be disposed of.
The plane had earlier been transferred from Iranian airline Mahan Air 鈥� which officials have alleged provides support for Iran鈥檚 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force 鈥� to Emtrasur, a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of a state-owned firm that had previously been sanctioned by the United States. Officials said the sale, done without US government authorization, violated export control laws and also improperly benefited Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Mahan Air has for years been subject to US government sanctions.
鈥淭he Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the full force of US laws deny hostile state actors the means to engage in malign activities that threaten our national security,鈥� Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the head of the department鈥檚 national security division, said in a statement.
The department said the plane would now be 鈥減repared for disposition,鈥� though it did not elaborate.
Venezuela鈥檚 government on Monday called the transfer a 鈥渟hameful rapacious operation鈥� and vowed to 鈥渢ake all actions to restore justice and achieve the restitution of the aircraft to its legitimate owner.鈥� Its statement did not provide details of next steps.
The administration of President Nicolas Maduro also accused the US and Argentine governments of 鈥渃ollusion鈥� and of violating civil aeronautics regulations 鈥渁s well as the commercial, civil and political rights鈥� of Emtrasur.
The plane was detained in June 2022 by Argentine law enforcement, and US officials moved several weeks later to take possession of it. Argentina officially transferred custody of the plane to the US on Sunday, officials said.
The Justice Department has identified the registered captain of the plane as an ex-commander for the Revolutionary Guard. Officials also cited a flight log they say was recovered that shows additional flights after the transfer to Emtrasur to locations including Moscow, Caracas and Tehran 鈥� all without US government approval.
Mahan Air has denied any ties to the aircraft, and Venezuela has demanded that Argentine authorities release the plane.