The Cuban regime reacted indignantly to the confiscation of the plane belonging to its ally and president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, with separate posts on the social media platform X from ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel and Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
Díaz-Canel and Rodríguez Parrilla expressed their rejection of the measure from the United States government and reflected their discontent regarding what they consider an unacceptable action against a close leader.
The first one wrote: "Once again, Venezuela is at the center of aggression and blackmail. We denounce the plunder of resources that belong to the Venezuelan state and demand the total lifting of unilateral coercive measures against our Venezuelan brothers."
Meanwhile, the second stated that "we condemn the illegal and fraudulent confiscation of the presidential plane of Venezuela. This act of piracy is a violation of International Law by the U.S. government, which uses impunity to commit these actions under the justification of arbitrary unilateral coercive measures."
Both reaffirm their solidarity with Venezuela amidst international tensions, following the presidential elections that have been declared fraudulent by the majority of international actors, which has exacerbated the social and political crisis in the territory.
It is important to remember that the leaders of the Cuban regime use planes similar to those given by the late Hugo Chávez for short trips outside the island and domestically.
For example, in October 2019, Díaz-Canel traveled to Mexico with his wife, Liz Cuesta, on a private jet, one of the three airplanes granted by Chávez to the Cuban government in the 2000s, valued at 100 million dollars.
Venezuela described in a statement the confiscation by U.S. authorities of the plane used by Maduro for his international travels as “piracy” and “recidivist criminal practice.”
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces to the international community that once again the authorities of the United States of America, in a recurring criminal practice that can only be described as piracy, have illegally confiscated an aircraft that has been used by the President of the Republic, justifying themselves with the coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose around the world," says the statement, published on the Instagram account of the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
It is worth noting that based on the U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela, the U.S. confiscated the aircraft on Monday, which was located in the Dominican Republic, CNN reported exclusively. The United States seizes Maduro's plane in the Dominican Republic.
"Seizing the plane of a foreign head of state is something unprecedented in criminal matters. We are sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions," pointed out one of the two U.S. officials interviewed by the prestigious channel.
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