WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is now offering a US$50 million reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is widely considered a dictator.
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 organisations 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 tonnes of cocaine that were subsequently linked to Maduro and his associates, Bondi said. Nearly seven tonnes 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 US$15 million reward for Maduro’s capture.
President Joe Biden’s State Department increased that to US$25 million and with Bondi’s announcement on Thursday, the federal government has doubled that.
“The DOJ has seized over US$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.
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