Double the US reward for Venezuelan President Maduro’s arrest is $50 million
The US doubled its reward for information that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, citing drug trafficking allegations.
No Brands – News Value
Aug. 7 (Reuters) – The US has doubled its pay for information that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, bringing it to $50 million for alleged links between drug trafficking and criminal groups.
In a video posted to X, Bondi accused Maduro of working with prominent criminal groups such as Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa Cartel.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gill told Telegram the announcement was “the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen.”
“While we are uncovering the coordinated terrorist plots from her country, this woman is coming out of the media circus to please the far-right who was defeated in Venezuela,” Gill said.
“The dignity of our hometown is not for sale. We reject this crude political propaganda,” he added.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pay was initially set at $15 million in 2020 when US prosecutors indicted Maduro for drug trafficking. In January 2025, Maduro was sworn in for the third term, and was sworn in with new sanctions against top officials, increasing to $25 million.
In February, the US State Department officially designated Venezuelan gang trender Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, along with MS-13 and several Mexican cartels. In July, Cartel de Los Sales was designated as a global terrorist organization.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement later Thursday that Maduro has been the leader of Cartel de los Salles for over a decade, responsible for the trafficking of drugs to the United States.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez and Vivian Sequera, Written by Natalia Siniawski, Edited by Saad Sayeed)
(This story has been updated to include a video.)
