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This materiel was destined for criminal groups and terrorist actions in the country, financed by the fascist extreme right and the government of the United States

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is undergoing the biggest crisis of his tenure, after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself president and was swiftly backed by countries around the globe, led by the U.S.

In the secret cache displayed by the Maduro government were 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges, dozens of military radio antennas and more. Putting on a show for the cameras, the government displayed AR-15 rifles, a Micro Draco semi-automatic pistol and a Colt 7.62 rifle with telescopic sights.

An interview with McClatchy reporter Tim Johnson on the seizure can be seen here:

The Boeing 767 seized by the government is operated by 21 Air LLC, with the regime saying it left Miami on Feb. 3.

McClatchy has found no concrete links between the aviation firm and the U.S. government, but reports that Adolfo Moreno, the firm’s chairman is connected to Gemini Air Cargo. This firm was linked to controversial prisoner transfers, known as extraordinary renditions, under George W. Bush, Barack Obama’s predecessor.

The same 21 Air plane has made “dozens” of return trips between Miami, Colombia and Venezuela since Jan. 11, McClatchy’s research shows. Often, it stayed in Miami for just a few hours, then went back south.

This included 40 round trips from Miami International Airport to Caracas and Valencia (Venezuela) and Bogota and Medellin (Colombia). Jan. 11 was just one day after Maduro was sworn in for a controversial second term in office.

The company’s flights are said to have come to an abrupt halt after McClatchy made its initial report.

Through a lawyer, 21 Air denied all involvement in any arms transfer, and said it had not even been notified of the seizure. It said its own plane had in fact been chartered by a separate company, GPS-Air.

“GPS-Air has been the only company that has chartered it for the last few weeks to Valencia, Venezuela,” the lawyer told McClatchy. GPS-Air likewise denied involvement, saying the cargo doesn’t belong to either firm, and calling its discovery a government ruse.

As he has on high-profile cases in the past, Ottawa-based ship and plane tracker Steffan Watkins was the person who initially called out the strange flight patterns, via Twitter.