U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the United States has raised its offer for information leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest, bringing the total to $50 million.
Maduro is accused of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” with direct links to powerful criminal organizations including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela’s own Tren de Aragua gang—recently designated a terrorist group by the U.S.
Bondi stated that the Drug Enforcement Administration had seized 30 tons of cocaine tied to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons personally linked to the president himself.
The U.S. Department of Justice claimed Maduro had worked with Colombia’s Farc rebels to “use cocaine as a weapon to ’flood’ the United States.”
Maduro, who returned to office in a 2024 election, has consistently rejected all U.S. accusations, calling them “political propaganda.” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the announcement as a “desperate distraction,” suggesting it aims to divert attention from domestic controversies.
Following his controversial return to power earlier this year, both the UK and the European Union imposed fresh sanctions on Maduro’s regime.
