The Trump administration has raised the bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to $50 million, primarily due to accusations of the dictator's involvement in drug trafficking and ties to criminal organizations.
That doubles the reward announced by the State Department back in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the increased incentive in a video message Thursday evening.
"Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TdA (Tren de Aragua), Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de Soles) to bring deadly violence to our country," Bondi asserted. "He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security."
Bondi accused Maduro of trafficking drugs, including fentanyl-laced cocaine, into the United States, providing specific details.
The Justice Department reportedly seized over $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and 30 tons of cocaine, with nearly seven tons directly tied to him.
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One would imagine $50 million would catch the eye of even the most well-funded of drug cartels in Maduro's circles.
Additionally, the aggressive bounty aligns with the Trump administration’s broader stance against Maduro’s regime, which it considers illegitimate due to his disputed 2024 re-election.
That election has been condemned as a sham by the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also promoted the increased reward, saying Maduro "must be brought to justice."
"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," Rubio said in a statement.
"The United States has refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of 2024 election and does not recognize him as the President of Venezuela."
Added Bondi: “Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk celebrated the reward announcement with a pair of fire emojis. Musk last year actively criticized Maduro’s leadership and accused him of outright election fraud, prompting the dictator to challenge him to an actual fight.
“I’m coming for you, Maduro!” Musk taunted. “I will carry you to Gitmo on a donkey.”
Maduro has a history of outright murder at the hands of his regime. In January, Canada imposed sanctions on Venezuela due to "human rights violations." In 2018, they referred it to the International Criminal Court in light of Maduro’s crimes against humanity.
The move was in response to the Organization of American States' findings that Maduro was “responsible for dozens of murders, thousands of extra-judicial executions, more than 12,000 cases of arbitrary detentions, more than 290 cases of torture, attacks against the judiciary and a ‘state-sanctioned humanitarian crisis’ affecting hundreds of thousands of people.”
$50 million seems like a bargain for a guy of that caliber.
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