The United States now offers 25 million dollars for the arrest or conviction of Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (CMC) — The U.S. State Department has increased to $25 million the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged in a federal indictment with narcoterrorism. and crimes related to drug trafficking.

The reward, initially set at $15 million, was raised to $25 million to underscore “the seriousness of his crimes and the continuing threat he poses to international stability,” according to a senior State Department official.

The US government is urging people with relevant information to come forward. People in the United States have been encouraged to contact their local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office, while those outside the U.S. are advised to contact the embassy or nearest US consulate.

Maduro, 62, has been under US indictment since 2020. Prosecutors allege he was a key figure in the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug trafficking organization made up of high-ranking officials.

He has been accused of leading a violent and corrupt narco-terrorist conspiracy in association with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated foreign terrorist organization. U.S. prosecutors allege that Maduro negotiated shipments of several tons of cocaine produced by the FARC, ordered the cartel to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC, and sought the group’s assistance in training an unauthorized militia that acted as the cartel’s armed wing. .

The announcement of the increased reward for his arrest came on the same day he took office for a third term.

Maduro, who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, was declared the winner of the July 2024 election by the country’s electoral authority and top court, despite what the US State Department said was “credible evidence of electoral fraud.” ”.

Washington has not recognized him as the legitimate president of Venezuela since 2019.