President Donald Trump’s administration says it has confiscated assets worth $700 million linked to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who is accused of trafficking drugs into the United States, while doubling the bounty for his arrest to $50 million.
Pamela Bondi, U.S. attorney general, announced that the “Department of Justice and State Department are announcing a historic $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro,” in a broadcast circulated on social media on Thursday.
“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organisations to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. Today, the DEA has seized 30tins of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates,” Ms Bondi said.
Labelling Mr Maduro “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to U.S. national security”, Ms Bondi said, “we doubled his reward to $50 million.”
She said assets worth over $700 million, including private jets and cars, linked to Mr Maduro had been confiscated, adding the U.S. government will bring Venezuela’s president to justice.
“Department of Justice had so far seized over $700 million of Maduro-linked assets, including two private jets, nine vehicles, and more,” Ms Bondi said, adding, “Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice, and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes.”
In a Telegram post, Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yvan Gil, dismissed Ms Bondi’s announcement as “the most ridiculous smokescreen ever seen” designed to deflect attention from the Jeffrey Epstein controversy in the U.S.
“It does not surprise us, coming from who it comes from. The same one who promised a non-existent ‘secret list’ of Epstein and who wallows in scandals of political favours,” Mr Gil said. “Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own miseries. The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We reject this crude political propaganda operation.”
Last week, the U.S. declared Mr Maduro and two of his allies wanted, offering $25 million to whoever is able to provide “information leading to the arrest and/or conviction” of Mr Maduro.
The U.S. has refused to recognise Mr Maduro’s government and has targeted Venezuela with different sanctions since the last election, which it adjudged fraudulent.
