Originally departing from Ramey Base, a former US Air Force strip at Rafael Hernandez International Airport (BQN), Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has landed in New York City after being taken into custody by the US Army’s elite Delta Force.

Tracking information available on Flightradar24 shows that a Department of Justice (DOJ), specifically the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Boeing 757-223 ferried the deposed Maduro from Guantanamo Bay to New York Stewart International Airport (SWF).

The Journey From Power To Prison

From the moment that special forces apprehended Maduro and his wife at their compound in Caracas, the journey to New York has been a complicated series of clandestine transfers from helicopter to plane to ship and back. The surprise attack of the US Air Force, Navy, and Army combined forces came suddenly after a gradual buildup in the region that included a carrier strike group.

Maduro is pictured aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an assault helicopter carrier operated by the US Navy for Marine Corps helicopters, tiltrotor V-22 Ospreys, and jump jets (F-35B Lightning IIs) operations. It is reported that he was transferred at an air base in Puerto Rico, following the release of blurry images showing a huddled group of people crossing the tarmac to a C-130 Hercules.

Ultimately, the DOJ Boeing 757 brought Maduro to his current jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). The federal prison is one of the most infamous in the United States for its poor conditions and long list of notorious inmates that have passed through its cells recently, including Luigi Mangione. After the raid on Maduro’s compound, reporter Ana Vanessa Herrero told the BBC:

« I heard a huge sound, a loud bang. It moved all the windows. Immediately after, I saw a huge cloud of smoke that almost blocked the entire view. Planes and helicopters were flying all over the city. »

The Most Tracked Plane Of The Day

Built in 1989, at the Boeing Renton plant, N874TW was number 248 to roll off the line. Bearing the Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 24524, the jet has spent most of its career carrying passengers for American Airlines before it began its tenure under the DOJ, and is now over 36 years old.

The jet was originally produced for AA and only received its winglets in 2008, according to Planespotters.net data. The aircraft was then acquired by defense contractor L3 Communications in 2012 before being purchased by the US DOJ in 2014. Since then, it has been registered under new tail numbers but remained in the service of the federal government.

When N874TW took off from Guantanamo Bay bound for New York City, it became the most actively monitored aircraft in the world. Websites that provide free live commercial flight tracking saw the 757 become an international phenomenon during its 3.5-hour flight. Delivering Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife to the Stewart Air National Guard base may well be the peak of the flying pencil’s career.

The US Federal Fleet Of Jetliners

Looking back at the fleet data available online, we see that the DOJ has just two Boeing 757 airliners, plus a 737, at its disposal. The 737 is over a decade younger than its longer-range and more powerful counterparts. Registered as N28252, the 23-year-old jet was only acquired in 2024 from lessor AerSale.

The other 757, tail number N119NA, has a similar history as the jet that carried Maduro, being acquired from L3, which purchased it from another defense contractor, who in turn had bought it from American Airlines. The 737, on the other hand, has a much different background with a far more colorful career history.

It was originally delivered to Yemen Airways in 2002 under a leasing agreement with ILFC. The jet is powered by CFM International CFM56 engines and received winglets in 2008, as the other Boeing’s operated by the DOJ. N28252 also flew for Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines, and was part of the AerCap leasing fleet until it was sold by AerSale to the DOJ.