The Trump administration is now offering a $50 million reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The announcement came directly from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who accused Maduro of conspiring with multiple gangs to bring guns and illegal drugs into the United States.
'Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country,' she said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has so far seized 30 tons of cocaine that were subsequently linked to Maduro and his associates, Bondi said.
Nearly seven tons of that total was linked to Maduro himself, she added, explaining that this represents a primary source of income for gangs operating in Venezuela and Mexico.
'Cocaine is often laced with fentanyl, resulting in the loss and destruction of countless American lives,' Bondi said.
Maduro, 62, has been in the crosshairs of the American justice system since March 2020, when he was indicted in the Southern District of New York on a litany of charges related to drug trafficking.
They included narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Immediately after the indictment, the first Trump administration offered a $15 million reward for Maduro's capture.
President Joe Biden's State Department increased that to $25 million and with Bondi's announcement on Thursday, the federal government has doubled that.
'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.
She vowed that Maduro won't escape justice under watch and that he 'will be held accountable for his despicable crimes'.
Maduro has been the president of Venezuela since April 2013, and in that time, he has been accused of consolidating power in executive agencies while simultaneously wresting it away from the elected National Assembly.
In 2024, Maduro ran for a third term as president. He was declared the winner in July by the Maduro-aligned election authority, which did not release the voting tallies from each of the 30,000 polling booths in the nation.
The opposition party, who ran Edmundo González as their candidate, also claimed victory.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the margin of González’s win was 'overwhelming' based on tallies received from 80 percent of ballot boxes nationwide.
Machado claimed González, a former diplomat, won with twice as many votes.
In November 2024, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially recognized González as the president-elect of Venezuela.
The Trump administration has held the same position, with current Secretary of State Marco Rubio accusing Maduro of election tampering last month.
'One year since dictator Nicolás Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner, the United States remains firm in its unwavering support to Venezuela’s restoration of democratic order and justice,' he said.
'Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government.'
Guaidó and González fled the country after both men had arrest warrants issued for them by Maduro's government.
