As Fox News confirmed, the US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the Dominican Republic.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) flew Maduro’s private plane back to the United States on Monday morning, where it landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is now in U.S. custody, a U.S. official told Fox News, according to an initial report by CNN.

The plane, described by officials as Maduro’s version of “Air Force One,” is used for Maduro’s state visits around the world and was seized in the Dominican Republic after it was purchased through a front company in violation of sanctions laws and export controls, the official said. U.S. authorities cited a specific violation of U.S. Executive Order 13884, signed by former President Donald Trump in 2019.

The aircraft, valued at $13 million, is a Dassault Falcon 900-EX. The seizure was the result of a joint investigation with HSI and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“This morning, the Department of Justice seized an aircraft that we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million through a front company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The Department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States.”

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s plane is seen on a tarmac in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after U.S. authorities seized the aircraft and flew it out of the Dominican Republic. (WFOR)

“This seizure should send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired by the United States to aid sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot simply fly off into the sunset,” added Matthew Axelrod, undersecretary of state for export controls at the Commerce Department. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work tirelessly with our partners here and around the world to identify and return every aircraft illegally smuggled out of the United States.”

It is expected that the seizure will further strain relations between the United States and Venezuela.

One month after the presidential election, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addresses government supporters gathered at the Presidential Palace in support of his re-election, on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In August 2019, Trump issued Executive Order 13884, which prohibits U.S. citizens from doing business with anyone who has acted, or purports to have acted, directly or indirectly, for or on behalf of the Venezuelan government, including as members of the Maduro regime. To protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the Commerce Department has also imposed export controls on items intended, in whole or in part, for a Venezuelan military or military intelligence end user, the Justice Department said Monday.

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In late 2022 and early 2023, people close to Maduro are said to have used a Caribbean-based shell company to conceal their involvement in the illegal purchase of the Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft, then valued at around $13 million, from a company based in the southern district of Florida, US investigators said.

Government supporters hold a poster of the late former President Hugo Chavez in front of the Presidential Palace during a rally in support of the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro, Wednesday, August 28, 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Federal investigators say the aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela via the Caribbean in April 2023. Since May 2023, the Dassault Falcon, tail number T7-ESPRT, “flew almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela and was used for the benefit of Maduro and his representatives, including to transport Maduro on visits to other countries,” the Justice Department said.

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The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security field office in Miami is investigating the case along with DHS and the HSI El Dorado Task Force Miami.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.