2LT International News

MIAMI, Florida: The Trump administration has doubled its bounty for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to US$50 million, accusing him of being one of the world’s most prolific narco-traffickers and working with cartels to smuggle fentanyl-laced cocaine into the United States.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said this week in a video announcing the reward.

Maduro was first indicted in 2020 in Manhattan federal court during Trump’s previous term, alongside several close allies, on charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. At that time, the U.S. offered $15 million for his capture. The Biden administration later increased the bounty to $25 million — the same amount once offered for Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.

Despite the escalating reward, Maduro has retained his grip on power, defying the U.S., the European Union, and several Latin American governments that denounced his 2024 reelection as fraudulent and recognized his opponent as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Last month, the Trump administration negotiated the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in Caracas in exchange for deporting scores of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under its immigration crackdown. Soon after, the White House reversed a previous sanctions block and allowed U.S. oil giant Chevron to resume drilling in Venezuela.

Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than $700 million in assets tied to Maduro, including two private jets, and linked nearly seven tons of confiscated cocaine directly to him.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the reward as “pathetic” and accused Bondi of running a “crude political propaganda operation.” He referenced her past controversies, including backlash over the Justice Department’s statement that a long-rumored “client list” tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein does not exist. “Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her misery,” Gil said.