The United States has dramatically intensified its campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, doubling the reward for information leading to his arrest to a record-breaking $50 million. Announced on August 7, 2025, by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, this unprecedented bounty marks the largest ever placed by the U.S. on a foreign leader and underscores Washington’s deepening resolve to hold Maduro accountable for alleged narcotrafficking, corruption, and democratic backsliding in Venezuela. The move, reported by CBS News and EL PAÍS, comes after years of mounting accusations and failed diplomatic efforts to dislodge the embattled president.
Bondi, in a video statement distributed on social media, minced no words: “Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country.” She asserted that Maduro is “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.” According to Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons personally connected to the Venezuelan leader. This cocaine, she added, is often laced with fentanyl—a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States.
The U.S. government’s accusations against Maduro are nothing new, but the scale of this latest reward is striking. The $50 million figure is eight times the amount once offered for the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in the early 1990s. The reward has steadily increased over time: initially set at $15 million when Maduro was first indicted on federal charges in March 2020, it was raised to $25 million under President Joe Biden in early 2025, before Donald Trump’s administration doubled it again this August.
Washington’s charges are sweeping. The Justice and State Departments allege that Maduro has collaborated with criminal organizations such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and the so-called Cartel of the Suns—a group the U.S. Treasury Department has designated a global terrorist organization. The State Department contends that for over a decade, Maduro has been a leader of the Cartel of the Suns, directing drug trafficking operations that flood the U.S. with cocaine.
“Today, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine tied to Maduro and his associates, nearly seven tons connected to Maduro personally,” Bondi reiterated, citing the operation’s scale. More than $700 million in assets linked to Maduro have also been seized by U.S. authorities, including two private jets and nine vehicles. The indictment against Maduro includes narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
But the U.S. campaign isn’t just about drugs. The doubling of the bounty follows a fiercely contested presidential election in Venezuela in July 2024. Maduro’s win was immediately denounced by opposition groups and much of the international community as fraudulent. The National Electoral Council, aligned with Maduro, declared him the victor, but opposition candidate Edmundo González and his supporters claimed González had won with twice the votes. Both González and another prominent opposition figure, Juan Guaidó—once recognized by the U.S. as Venezuela’s legitimate leader—have since fled the country after Maduro ordered their arrests.
International condemnation of Maduro’s rule has been fierce and persistent. The U.S., alongside allies such as the UK, European Union, and Canada, has imposed a raft of sanctions, visa restrictions, and asset freezes on Venezuelan officials. The UK sanctioned 15 Venezuelan officials in January 2025 for undermining democracy and committing human rights violations, while the EU extended its own restrictive measures. The Carter Center, an independent election observer, declared the July 2024 vote lacked electoral integrity, fueling further outrage and calls for a democratic transition.
Maduro’s presidency, which began in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez, has been marked by economic collapse, mass migration, and political repression. Over 5.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country, driven by hyperinflation, widespread shortages, and a climate of fear. Human rights groups have documented arbitrary detentions and violent crackdowns on demonstrators, with over 2,400 arrests reported after the 2024 election alone.
The U.S. government’s position is unequivocal. “Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared last month, echoing a chorus of Western diplomats who refuse to recognize Maduro’s authority. “Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States.”
Inside Venezuela, the government has responded with characteristic defiance. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the U.S. bounty as “pathetic” and “political propaganda.” In a statement reported by EL PAÍS, Gil said, “While we are busy dismantling the terrorist plots orchestrated from [the U.S.], this lady is putting on a media circus to please Venezuela’s defeated far right.” He further derided Bondi personally, calling the announcement “a joke” and “a desperate distraction from their own failings.” Gil concluded, “The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We repudiate this crude political propaganda operation.”
Despite mounting international pressure, Maduro has managed to survive politically, thanks in large part to support from the military and steadfast alliances with countries like Russia, China, and Iran. Only Cuban and Nicaraguan leaders attended his inauguration in January 2025, a stark symbol of his diplomatic isolation. Meanwhile, opposition leaders such as María Corina Machado remain in hiding or exile, calling for a democratic transition but facing daunting odds.
For the U.S. and its allies, the $50 million bounty is both a symbolic and practical escalation. It is intended, according to a former National Security Council spokesman, as “a concerted message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and an effort to “further elevate international efforts to maintain pressure on Maduro and his proxies.” Anyone with information on Maduro’s whereabouts is urged to contact U.S. authorities, as the search for a breakthrough continues.
As Venezuela’s crisis deepens, with millions displaced and democratic norms eroded, the international community’s eyes remain fixed on Caracas. Whether the record-breaking bounty will hasten Maduro’s downfall or simply harden his resolve remains to be seen, but for now, the stakes—and the rewards—have never been higher.
