A Venezuelan regime plane traveled to the border with Brazil amid growing military pressure from the United States in the Caribbean region. According to the ADSB Exchange website, which monitors flight tracking data, the aircraft departed Caracas and went to the border with the Brazilian state of Roraima, before returning to the Venezuelan capital.
The aircraft tracked by ADSB Exchange is an Airbus A-319, registration YV2984, operated by Conviasa, a Venezuelan state airline. The plane is described by the website as a “VIP government aircraft” and was once used by dictator Nicolás Maduro on official trips.
According to the website, the plane would have landed at Santa Elena de Uairén Airport, around 250km from the border with Brazil, which is equivalent to a journey of just over three hours by car. Then, the route tracked by ADSB Exchange shows that the aircraft returned to the vicinity of Caracas.
The YV2984 plane is part of the Venezuelan regime’s fleet and has already been the target of United States sanctions. In March 2020, the aircraft was mentioned in the sanctions list published by Ofac, the United States Foreign Assets Control Agency.
Other Conviasa aircraft were subject to US sanctions. At the time, the Treasury Department stated that “the illegitimate Maduro regime relies on the Venezuelan state airline CONVIASA to transport corrupt regime officials around the world to fuel support for its anti-democratic efforts.”
Despite being part of the fleet used by the regime’s top brass, the aircraft is not the only one used to transport Nicolás Maduro. To date, there is also no evidence that the dictator was on board the flight that approached the border with Brazil.
