The United States (U.S.) has recently doubled the reward to a whopping $50 million for tip-off leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” as he has worked with the drug cartels to sweep the U.S. markets with fentanyl-coated cocaine.
In a video posted on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi has officially announced to increase the reward to $50 million which was previously $25 million when Maduro was charged in Manhattan federal court in 2022 on the grounds of narco-terrorism and illegally importing cocaine.
Bondi further asserted that Maduro is also allegedly involved in leveraging foreign terrorist organisations such as Tren da Aragua and Sinaloa Cartel for his own ends. His "nefarious" motive to bring malicious drugs and violence into the US.
She also made claims that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro, calling him a threat to national security.
Maduro has also been subjected to sanctions in the EU and UK as he returned to the office on the basis of rigged elections.
In response to the official announcement, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has attributed the new reward to “political propaganda” and “pathetic.”
Even during Trump’s first term, the US administration charged Maduro and other officials belonging to upper echelons with a multitude of offenses ranging from drug-trafficking, and terrorism to corruption.