Venezuela criticizes US for "hijacking" President Maduro's plane

AFP reported that the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a statement on September 2 criticizing the US confiscation of President Nicolas Maduro's plane as "an act of robbery."

“The US authorities are once again involved in a criminal act that cannot be described in any other way than robbery,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, CNN quoted US officials as confirming that Washington had seized President Maduro's plane in the Dominican Republic. The plane was taken to Florida.

The move “sends a clear message” that no one is “above US sanctions,” a US official said.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office on September 2 requested an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, after he failed to respond to three summonses to testify in the case of an opposition website publishing detailed results of the presidential election in the South American country.

Officials of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), including President Maduro, accused the opposition of inciting violence and Attorney General Tarek Saab launched a criminal investigation into opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Mr Gonzalez and the website where the opposition posted copies of the vote tally at polling stations.