U.S. Government Places $25 Million Bounty on Venezuelan President Maduro for Drug Trafficking and Other Charges

The United States government has declared Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and two of his close allies, Diosdado Cabello Rondón and Vladimir Padrino López, wanted for drug trafficking.

The U.S. Department of State announced a combined reward of $65 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the three Venezuelan officials.A reward of $25 million was placed on President Maduro, while Cabello and Padrino carry rewards of $25 million and $15 million, respectively.

The U.S. authorities accused the trio of being leaders of the Cartel de los Soles, which was recently designated a terrorist organisation by the U.S. Treasury Department.

According to the Department of State, the cartel is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States. A wanted poster issued by the U.S. describes President Maduro as a “designated global terrorist cartel de los soles leader”, and outlines charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and conspiracy to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug crime.