The US Air Force is buying two 747 aircraft left out in the cold by a bankrupt Russian firm for President Donald Trump’s personal ride: Air Force One.
The move reduces cost for the presidential aircraft derided by Trump. "The plane is totally out of control, it’s going to be over $4 billion" Trump said in December. "I think it’s ridiculous," he added, APA reports quoting Sputnik.
The jets were ordered from Boeing by Transaero in 2013 but were never delivered. Boeing was going to make four jets for the Russian airliner, but stopped when the company ended up going under in 2015. The USAF agreed to terms to buy the Russian planes for just $390 million.
The list price of the jets was $1.5 billion, according to Flight Global. The sticker price for each 747-8 runs about $386 million, meaning that if USAF awards the $390 million contract for the two jets, the White House will be paying about 50 percent of the jets’ retail value.
"They have kidnapped Leopoldo Lopez because he simply would not break under the pressures and false promises of the regime," said Freddy Guevara, a legislator in the Popular Will party led by Lopez.
A U.S.-educated economist and former mayor in Caracas, Lopez is beloved by some in the opposition for his hardline anti-government stance.
The government sees him as an elitist coup-monger, and even some opposition sympathizers have criticized him for being hot-headed and authoritarian.
Both Lopez and Ledezma had been urging protests against Sunday's vote, which they charged was rigged and a naked power grab by Maduro.
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