The Trump administration on Thursday announced a whopping $50 million reward for any information that could help lead to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, who is widely considered a dictator.
The announcement was made directly by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who alleged that Maduro has been working with several criminal gangs to smuggle weapons and illegal drugs into the United States, promoting crime in the country and disturbing peace among citizens. "Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country," Bondi said in a video posted on X announcing the bounty on Maduro.
Enemy of the People
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized 30 tons of cocaine that have been traced back to Maduro and his network, Bondi said. She noted that nearly seven tons of that amount were directly tied to Maduro, adding that drug trafficking remains a major source of funding for criminal gangs in both Venezuela and Mexico.
"Cocaine is often laced with fentanyl, resulting in the loss and destruction of countless American lives," Bondi said.
Maduro, now 62, has been under legal scrutiny in the U.S. since March 2020, when he was formally charged in the Southern District of New York with a range of offenses linked to drug smuggling. The charges include narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, illegal possession of machine guns and explosive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons.
Just after the indictment, the first Trump administration put a $15 million reward for the capture of Maduro.
Later, under President Joe Biden, the State Department raised the offer to $25 million. With Pam Bondi's announcement on Thursday, the federal government has now doubled that amount. "The DOJ has seized over $700 million of Maduro linked assets, including two private jets, nine vehicles and more. Yet Maduro's reign of terror continues," Bondi said.
"He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world, and a threat to our national security," she added.
Bondi's Pledge to Nab Maduro
Bondi pledged that Maduro would not escape justice under her watch, declaring that he "will be held accountable for his despicable crimes." Maduro has been Venezuela's president since April 2013. During his time in power, he has faced widespread accusations of consolidating power within the executive branch while stripping power from the democratically elected National Assembly.
Serious doubts surrounded the legitimacy of the 2018 presidential election, which Maduro claimed victory in. In response, opposition lawmakers declared National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as the rightful leader of Venezuela.
Guaidó was even honored as a special guest at President Trump's State of the Union address in February 2020, where members of both political parties gave him a standing ovation after Trump referred to him as "the true and legitimate president of Venezuela."
In 2024, Maduro sought a third term as president and was declared the winner in July by an election authority loyal to his regime. However, the agency did not reveal the vote counts from any of the country's 30,000 polling stations.
Meanwhile, the opposition, whose candidate was Edmundo González, also claimed that they had won the election.
