The U.S. State Department has raised the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president charged with narco-terrorism, from $15 million to $25 million.
The updated offer, announced on January 8, 2025, underscores renewed efforts to bring Nicolás Maduro to justice amid ongoing accusations of corruption and drug trafficking at the highest levels of Venezuela’s government.
Maduro has led Venezuela since 2013, following Hugo Chávez’s death, but his presidency has been fraught with controversy. The United States has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader since 2019, citing significant electoral irregularities. Most recently, Maduro claimed victory in the highly contested July 2024 presidential election, which international observers and the U.S. government denounced as fraudulent.
Maduro is accused of managing the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug-trafficking network involving high-ranking officials. Federal charges against him, filed in March 2020 in New York, include narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns. Investigators allege Maduro worked with Colombia’s FARC rebel group to facilitate multi-ton cocaine shipments and establish a militia-like force to protect cartel operations.
This announcement comes in the same week when the U.S. announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals for 18 months, “based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime.”
Sanctions on Venezuelan officials
The U.S. Treasury simultaneously announced new sanctions targeting eight high-ranking Venezuelan officials. These include Héctor Andrés Obregón Pérez, president of the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), and Ramón Celestino Velásquez Araguayán, Minister of Transportation and president of the national airline CONVIASA.
Both organizations have been previously sanctioned by the U.S., with allegations of facilitating Maduro’s repressive tactics and undermining democracy.
The sanctions extend to senior military and police officials implicated in human rights abuses and repression. Douglas Rico, director of the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC), and Jhonny Salazar, his deputy, are cited for systematic abuses, including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions. Manuel Castillo, a high-ranking military commander, and José Ramón Figuera, overseeing security in Caracas, have also been linked to violent crackdowns on protesters after the contested election.
These sanctions block all U.S.-controlled property and assets of the designated individuals, prohibiting transactions involving them. Treasury officials emphasized that the goal of these actions is not punitive but to encourage behavioral change and accountability.
