MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US ups reward for narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro

Authorities have seized tons of cocaine and hundreds of millions of dollars in assets linked to Maduro, Bondi claimed

The US government has doubled its reward to US$50 million for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration is accusing him of being a “narco-terrorist” and one of the world's largest drug traffickers, claiming he has worked with cartels to smuggle cocaine into the US.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi also pointed out that authorities have seized tons of cocaine and hundreds of millions of dollars in assets linked to Maduro.

”The Department of State and the Department of Justice are announcing a reward offer increase of up to $50 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP) for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Nicolás Maduro for violating US narcotics laws,“ Washington said in a statement.

”For over a decade, Maduro has been a leader of Cartel de los Soles, which is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States. On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Cartel de Los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),“ it added.

”Since 2020, Maduro has strangled democracy and grasped at power in Venezuela. Maduro claimed to have won Venezuela’s July 28, 2024, presidential election but failed to present any evidence that he had prevailed. The United States has refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of 2024 election and does not recognize him as the President of Venezuela,“ the document also noted.

In response, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yván Gil called the increased bounty a ”pathetic“ and ”crude political propaganda operation,“ and ”the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen.“

”This woman is coming out with a media circus to please the defeated far-right in Venezuela,” he added about Bondi.