Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, doubling the previous $25 million offer. The U.S. accuses Maduro of drug trafficking, which he denies, and Venezuela’s foreign minister called the announcement a “smokescreen.”
Bondi announces $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on August 7, 2025, a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, doubling the previous $25 million offer, Al Jazeera reported.
In a video posted to social media, Bondi called Maduro “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security,” adding: “Therefore, we doubled his reward to $50 million.” She said that “under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice” and that “he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes.”
How the reward grew
Maduro and several close allies were indicted in U.S. federal court in 2020, during Trump’s first term, on drug trafficking charges. At that time, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward. It was raised to $25 million in January 2025, the same amount the U.S. had offered for Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The new announcement doubles that figure.
What the U.S. alleges
The U.S. accuses Maduro of working with drug cartels to send cocaine, including cocaine laced with fentanyl, into the United States. Bondi accused him of collaborating with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the so-called Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles) and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets and nine vehicles, and claimed that tonnes of seized cocaine had been traced directly to him. Maduro’s government has denied the U.S. accusations.
Venezuela’s response
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the announcement on Telegram as “the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen,” arguing that it was meant to distract from the controversy in the U.S. over files related to Jeffrey Epstein. “It does not surprise us, coming from who it comes from,” he wrote. “The dignity of our homeland is not for sale.”
Related case: Hugo Carvajal
In June 2025, Hugo Carvajal, Venezuela’s former military intelligence director, pleaded guilty in the U.S. to four counts, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons charges, a week before his trial was due to begin. Carvajal served in Hugo Chávez’s government from 2004 to 2011, later backed the opposition, and was extradited from Spain to the U.S. in July 2023. Prosecutors alleged he led a cartel that tried to “flood” the U.S. with cocaine.
Background
Maduro remained in power after Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, which the U.S., the European Union and several Latin American governments rejected as fraudulent. In July 2025, the Trump administration secured the release of 10 Americans jailed in Venezuela in a prisoner exchange involving Venezuelans the U.S. had deported to El Salvador. The administration later allowed Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela, which U.S. sanctions had blocked.
Source: Al Jazeera
