Washington offers $50M bounty on Venezuelan president Maduro

Department of Research, Studies and International News -11-08-2025

In a provocative and politically charged move, the United States has doubled the bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, offering $50 million for information that could lead to his arrest. This decision, presented as a counter-narcotics measure, has been widely criticized as a desperate attempt by Washington to exert extraterritorial influence and undermine a sovereign leader who has defied Western hegemony.

The announcement was made by US Attorney General Pam Bondi via a video posted on social media, in which she labelled President Maduro as “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world” and claimed he poses a threat to US national security. Bondi accused Maduro of collaborating with various Latin American criminal organizations, including the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and Cartel of the Suns, as well as Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

“The reward has been increased to $50 million,” Bondi stated, adding that the US Department of Justice has seized over $700 million in assets allegedly linked to the Venezuelan leader, including private aircraft and vehicles. Bondi claimed that large quantities of cocaine intercepted by US authorities could be traced back to the Maduro government.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil was swift in his response, calling the US action a farcical distraction aimed at diverting attention from internal American scandals, particularly those surrounding the ongoing revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

“This is the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen,” Gil said on the social media platform Telegram. “It comes from a person involved in shady political favors and scandals. Her performance is laughable and only reflects the desperation of a decaying political system. Our homeland’s dignity is not up for negotiation.”

The move also resurrects a case first brought forward during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2020, when Maduro and his close associates were indicted on charges of narco-terrorism. At that time, the US offered $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture. The Biden administration later raised the reward to $25 million, the same amount the US once put on Osama bin Laden’s head after the 9/11 attacks. This latest escalation underlines a bipartisan consensus in Washington that continues to treat Venezuela’s sovereign leadership as a threat to be eliminated.

The US has repeatedly accused Venezuelan officials of orchestrating drug trafficking operations. In one case, former intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, who served under late President Hugo Chávez, was extradited from Spain to the US after being charged with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. Carvajal, once a Maduro ally, later defected and backed the US-supported opposition.

Carvajal pleaded guilty in June to several criminal charges, just days before his trial was set to begin. US prosecutors claim that he and other senior Venezuelan figures tried to “flood” the US with cocaine, an allegation that critics say conveniently aligns with Washington’s narrative to justify its aggressive posture toward Venezuela.

Despite the intensified pressure, President Maduro remains firmly in power. He was re-elected in 2024 in a vote declared illegitimate by the US and some of its allies. However, countries like China, Russia, and India recognized the electoral outcome and continue to support Venezuela’s sovereignty and stability in the face of external interference.

Ironically, while Washington vilifies Caracas, the US has quietly resumed negotiations with the Maduro government. In late 2024, a deal was reached to release ten American citizens detained in Venezuela in exchange for the repatriation of Latin American nationals previously deported under Trump’s controversial immigration policies. Additionally, US oil giant Chevron was granted permission to resume operations in Venezuela, a notable reversal of previous sanctions.

These contradictory moves expose the duplicity of Washington’s Venezuela policy, combining hostile rhetoric and economic warfare with pragmatic concessions when politically expedient. Meanwhile, nations opposed to US unipolar dominance continue to view Venezuela not as a threat, but as a resilient symbol of resistance in a multipolar world.

As the US clings to outdated Cold War tactics and coercive diplomacy, Venezuela, with the backing of global partners in the East and South, stands defiant, refusing to surrender its national dignity to imperialist pressure.