The United States on Thursday sharply increased its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, doubling the bounty to an unprecedented $50 million as officials intensified warnings about his alleged role in global drug trafficking networks.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the move in a video statement, portraying Maduro as a central figure in an international narcotics enterprise that has endangered American lives and undermined U.S. national security.
“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country,” Ms. Bondi said. “To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself.”
The attorney general said the Justice Department had seized more than $700 million in assets tied to the Venezuelan leader, including “two private jets, nine vehicles, and more.”
But, she added, the dictator’s “reign of terror continues. He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”
Today, @TheJusticeDept and @StateDept are announcing a $50 MILLION REWARD for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/D8LNqjS9yk
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 7, 2025
The bounty increase follows an earlier rise in January, when the former Biden administration raised the offer from $15 million to $25 million in the wake of U.S. accusations that Maduro had clung to power after a fraudulent election the previous year.
The United States has refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader since 2019, citing what the Justice Department called the “deeply flawed 2018 presidential election.” That contest, widely viewed as rigged, further cemented Maduro’s control despite the collapse of Venezuela’s economy and a mass exodus of its citizens.
Washington’s pursuit of Maduro began in earnest during President Donald J. Trump’s first term, when the Justice Department placed an initial $15 million bounty on his head in 2020.
Mr. Trump ramped up sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in a bid to choke off the regime’s primary source of revenue.
One of his final acts before leaving office was to impose sweeping penalties on individuals and entities accused of aiding PDVSA’s trade.
Venezuela’s economy — once buoyed by its status as home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves — has been reduced to near ruin under Maduro’s rule.
The regime has relied almost entirely on oil exports to survive, even as mismanagement and corruption have crippled production.
Earlier this year, Mr. Trump reversed course on a decision to revoke Venezuela’s license to work with Chevron, allowing the U.S. energy company to continue exporting oil from the country.
Chevron had first obtained the license in 2022, but it was canceled in February. In July, the president renewed the license, reportedly as part of a prisoner exchange that secured the release of 10 American hostages from Venezuelan custody.
The heightened $50 million reward underscores Washington’s determination to remove Maduro from power and dismantle the criminal networks U.S. officials say he commands.
Whether the offer leads to his arrest remains uncertain — but the message from Washington is unmistakable: the United States considers Maduro not just an adversarial head of state, but a global threat whose capture is worth a record-breaking price.
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