Venezuela had crypto for buying jet fuel, now its president has lost his plane
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who once made it law to buy plane fuel with the country’s now-defunct Petro crypto token, has had his own jet seized by the US. The US Justice Department says the seized Falcon 900EX plane was illegally purchased for $13 million and allegedly acquired through a Caribbean-based shell company, resulting in a possible breach of US export control and sanctions laws. Venezuela is reportedly considering taking legal action against the seizure and has called it an act of “piracy.” The country’s Foreign Minister, Yván Gilminster, said that the US is justifying itself, “with the coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose around the world.” Maduro’s Petro token was shuttered this year In January 2024, Petro, Maduro’s state-created crypto, was shut down and all holdings were liquidated . The token was decreed in 2020 to be the mandatory currency when purchasing jet fuel for international flight...