accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and of collaborating with cartels to flood the United States with fentanyl-laced cocaine.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video announcing the reward.

Maduro was indicted in Manhattan federal court in 2020, during the early years of the Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. At that time, the United States offered a 15 million dollar reward for his arrest. That sum was later raised by the Biden administration to 25 million dollars—the same amount the U.S. historically offered for Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.

Despite the bounty, Maduro remains entrenched, having defied the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American governments that condemned his 2024 reelection as a sham and recognized his opponent as Venezuela’s duly elected president.

Last month, the Trump administration struck a deal to secure the release of 10 Americans jailed in Caracas in exchange for Venezuela accepting the return of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the previous immigration crackdown. Shortly afterward, the White House allowed Chevron to resume drilling in Venezuela after prior sanctions blocked activity.

Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than 700 million dollars in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and that nearly seven tons of seized cocaine had been traced directly to him. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil called the reward “pathetic” and accused Bondi of running a “crude political propaganda operation.” He said, “We’re not surprised,” criticizing Bondi as the source of the backlash following the department’s previous statements about a so-called Epstein client list. (CNN)