The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday upped the reward it’s offering for information that leads to the arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to $50 million.
“He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security. Therefore, we’ve doubled his reward to $50 million,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video posted to X.
The Biden administration previously set the award amount at $25 million, which was an increase from the first Trump administration when officials offered $15 million for information that led to Maduro.
Maduro was indicted in 2020 on U.S. charges of narco-terrorism for allegedly attempting to weaponize cocaine by “flooding” U.S. communities with the drug.
Western leaders have refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, pointing to what they say is a disputed reelection leading to his return to office in 2024.
Still, he’s garnered support from local allies who claim Bondi’s reward for his arrest is politically motivated.
“We’re not surprised, coming from whom it comes from. The same one who promised a nonexistent ‘secret list’ of Epstein and who wallows in scandals for political favors,”Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement, referencing her failure to produce a client list for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Associated Press.
“Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” she added.
Officials said they’ve already seized over $700 million worth of assets linked to Maduro to include two private jets and nine vehicles.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has recovered 7 tons of cocaine linked to the Venezuelan leader often trafficked by members of TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Sons street gangs, according to the DOJ.
