The Trump administration is doubling to US$50 million the reward for the arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday in a video announcing the reward.
Maduro was indicted in Manhattan federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. At the time, the US offered a US$15 million reward for his arrest. That was later raised by the Biden administration to US$25 million — the same amount the US offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Despite the big bounty, Maduro remains entrenched after defying the US, the European Union, and several Latin American governments who condemned his 2024 reelection as a sham and recognised his opponent as Venezuela’s duly elected president.
Last month, the Trump administration struck a deal to secure the release of 10 Americans jailed in Caracas in exchange for Venezuela getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Shortly after, the White House reversed course and allowed US oil producer Chevron to resume drilling in Venezuela after it was previously blocked by US sanctions.
Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than US$700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and said 7 million tonnes of seized cocaine had been traced directly to the leftist leader.
Maduro’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. (AP)
