The Trump administration has announced a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. The action is part of a broader effort to confront socialist corruption and restore democracy in Venezuela, a nation that has been devastated by years of leftist mismanagement and human rights abuses.
In a video shared on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of partnering with major criminal organizations, including the Tren de Aragua gang and the Sinaloa Cartel. She labeled him as one of the world's leading narco-traffickers, alleging that he has worked with these cartels to flood the United States with cocaine laced with fentanyl.
"Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice, and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes," Bondi said in the video.
Maduro is broadly viewed as an authoritarian ruler who has overseen one of the most devastating political and economic breakdowns in recent Latin American history. In 2020, the U.S. Justice Department charged him with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and corruption, and announced a multi-million-dollar reward for any information that could lead to his capture.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said that the reward for Maduro was "the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen."
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"While we're debunking the terrorist plots orchestrated from her country, this woman is coming out with a media circus to please the defeated far-right in Venezuela," Gil said. "The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We repudiate this crude political propaganda operation."
The reward initially stood at $15 million when U.S. prosecutors indicted Maduro on drug trafficking charges in 2020. In January 2025, as Maduro began his third term in office, the bounty was raised to $25 million, accompanied by a fresh wave of sanctions targeting senior figures in his regime.
Bondi stated that the Justice Department has confiscated over $700 million in assets connected to Maduro, including two private aircraft. She also revealed that authorities had traced seven million tons of seized cocaine directly back to the socialist leader.
