Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (File photo via Getty)
Washington has announced a record $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—a move Caracas has sharply denounced as a political stunt.
The United States on Thursday doubled its bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, offering a staggering $50 million reward in what it described as part of its ongoing efforts to combat international drug trafficking.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a video posted on social media, labeled Maduro as “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” accusing him of colluding with Venezuelan criminal groups to smuggle fentanyl-laced cocaine into the United States.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil responded sharply to the latest announcement, dismissing it on Telegram as “the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen,” and suggesting it was an attempt to divert public attention in the US from the widening Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
“It does not surprise us, coming from who it comes from. The same one who promised a non-existent ‘secret list’ of Epstein and who wallows in scandals of political favours,” he wrote.
Gil described Bondi’s remarks as “a joke” and “a desperate distraction,” adding, “The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We reject this crude political propaganda operation.”
Bondi also alleged that US authorities have confiscated over $700 million in assets tied to Maduro, including luxury vehicles, private jets, and large quantities of cocaine purportedly connected to his inner circle.
While the US official frames these actions as part of a broader anti-narcotics campaign, the rhetoric surrounding the reward raises familiar questions in Latin America—particularly given Washington’s well-documented history of backing regime change efforts in Venezuela.
Over the past decade, successive US administrations have openly supported opposition figures, recognized parallel governments, and imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at ousting Maduro’s government.
Maduro was re-elected as Venezuela's president in 2024.
In 2020, during the first Trump presidency, Maduro and several of his associates were indicted on federal drug charges. At that time, the US offered a $15 million reward for his capture. The Biden administration later increased the amount to $25 million—equal to the reward once offered for Osama bin Laden—before Thursday’s dramatic doubling.
The bounty comes as just weeks ago, the Trump administration negotiated the release of 10 jailed Americans in Caracas in exchange for allowing Venezuelan deportees to return from El Salvador—a deal made amid Trump’s toughened immigration policy.
In another policy reversal, the White House has recently eased sanctions and allowed US oil giant Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela.
