In the early hours of Monday, February 12, a Boeing 747-300M operated by Emtrasur, the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa‘s cargo subsidiary, took off from Buenos Aires‘ Ezeiza International Airport, bound for United States.
The aircraft, bearing the registration YV3531 and operating a flight identified as TYSON23, lifted off at 01:21 local time. According to various sources, TYSON is a callsign reserved for flights operated by United States governmental and security agencies.
Tracking systems via transponder revealed that the plane avoided Venezuelan airspace, a move that would have been considered an “act of hostility” by Nicolás Maduro’s government, and its trace was lost as it entered United States continental airspace over Florida.
The Boeing 747-300M had been detained at Ezeiza since June 2022, where it was redirected from Córdoba due to bad weather, before attempting to head to Montevideo, Uruguay, for refueling. After being denied overflight rights by Uruguay, the aircraft diverted to Ezeiza. Upon arrival, Argentine authorities awaited it, finding irregularities in the passenger manifest.
A Venezuelan Boeing 747 with ties to Iran is detained in Argentina
Further investigation into the aircraft’s origin revealed it was acquired from an Iranian airline through a triangulation involving a company in the United Arab Emirates. This transaction was in violation of sanctions, as Iran is prohibited from trading in US-origin goods due to its inclusion in the list of countries and entities sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
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The violation prompted the United States to request the Argentine judiciary to confiscate the plane, a request that was granted in January 2024.
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The Venezuelan government has vehemently protested the seizure, deeming it a theft of legitimately acquired material.
Boeing 747 Confiscation in Argentina: Airline Condemns Act as Theft of Legitimate Property
Despite the Maduro administration’s complaints and campaigns, the transfer process of the Boeing 747 from Emtrasur was completed without significant issues.
