US doubles reward for arrest of Venezuela’s President Maduro to $50m

US Attorney General Pam Bondi says Venezuelan president 1 of the world’s ‘largest narco-traffickers’.

The United States has offered a $50m reward for accusation starring to the apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, doubling an earlier reward of $25m acceptable by the Trump medication successful January.

The US has accused the Venezuelan leader of being 1 of the world’s starring narco-traffickers and moving with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.

In a video posted to societal media connected Thursday announcing the “historic” summation successful reward money, US Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of collaborating with Venezuelan transgression syndicates Tren de Aragua, Cartel of the Suns and the notorious Sinaloa Cartel successful Mexico.

“He is 1 of the largest narco-traffickers successful the satellite and a menace to our nationalist security. Therefore, we doubled his reward to $50 million,” Bondi said.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro volition not flight justice, and helium volition beryllium held accountable for his despicable crimes,” she said, earlier giving the nationalist a hotline telephone fig wherever they tin study tips.

Bondi besides said that the US Department of Justice had truthful acold seized much than $700m successful assets linked to Maduro, including 2 backstage jets, 9 vehicles, and claimed that tonnes of seized cocaine had been traced straight to the president.

Today, @TheJusticeDept and @StateDept are announcing a $50 MILLION REWARD for accusation starring to the apprehension of Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/D8LNqjS9yk

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 7, 2025

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil responded connected the Telegram level to Bondi’s announcement, saying it was “the astir ridiculous smokescreen ever seen” and designed to distract attraction from the Jeffrey Epstein contention successful the US.

“It does not astonishment us, coming from who it comes from. The aforesaid 1 who promised a non-existent ‘secret list’ of Epstein and who wallows successful scandals of governmental favours,” the curate said.

“Her amusement is simply a joke, a hopeless distraction from her ain miseries. The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We cull this crude governmental propaganda operation,” helium said.

Maduro was indicted successful a US national tribunal successful 2020, during the archetypal Trump presidency, on with respective adjacent allies, connected national cause charges.

At the time, the US offered a $15m reward for his arrest. That was aboriginal raised by the Biden medication to $25m – the aforesaid magnitude the US offered for the seizure of Osama bin Laden pursuing the September 11, 2001, attacks.

In June, a erstwhile manager of the Venezuelan subject quality pleaded blameworthy to cause trafficking and narco-terrorism charges successful the US, a week earlier his proceedings was acceptable to begin.

Hugo Carvajal, who served successful the authorities of the precocious President Hugo Chavez from 2004 to 2011, admitted guilt successful 4 transgression counts, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons charges.

US national prosecutors had alleged the erstwhile major-general, on with different high-ranking Venezuelan authorities and subject officials, led a cause cartel that attempted to “flood” the US with cocaine.

Then-Venezuelan lawmaker Hugo Carvajal attends a gathering astatine the National Assembly administrative offices, successful Caracas, Venezuela, successful 2016. Carvajal, a erstwhile caput of subject intelligence, has pleaded blameworthy to cause trafficking charges by the US [File: Fernando Llano]

Carvajal had served arsenic a diplomat representing Maduro’s authorities earlier breaking with him to enactment the country’s US-backed governmental opposition. He was extradited from Spain to the US successful July 2023 pursuing much than a decade-long run by the Justice Department.

Despite the US rewards, Maduro remains successful power aft his re-election arsenic president successful 2024 successful a ballot that was condemned arsenic a sham by Washington, the European Union and respective Latin American governments.

Last month, the Trump medication struck a woody to secure the merchandise of 10 Americans jailed successful Caracas successful speech for Venezuela seeing the instrumentality location of dozens of radical deported by the US to El Salvador nether the Trump administration’s caller migration crackdown.

Shortly after, the White House besides reversed people and allowed US lipid elephantine Chevron to resume drilling successful Venezuela aft it was antecedently blocked by US sanctions.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies