Where is Nicolas Maduro? AG Pam Bondi offers $50 mn for Venezuelan President's arrest

The United States is stepping up its sue against Venezuelan chair Nicolas Maduro, with Attorney General Pam Bondi offering $50 million for any information that leads to his arrest.

The State Department and Justice Department announced this reward, which is $25 million more than the existing pool for information on Maduro.

The US has accused Maduro of aiding drug cartels and street gangs besides running a corrupt and oppressive regime.

“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TdA (Tren de Aragua), Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de Soles) to bring deadly violence to our country,” Bondi said, adding, “He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.”

Maduro remains the President of Venezuela, a sovereign nation, and as such is likely to reside in the official presidential address.

The Venezuelan president's official address is the Miraflores Palace, which is also the head office of the President of Venezuela. It is situated on Urdaneta Avenue, Libertador Bolivarian Municipality in Caracas.

However, Maduro likely has other properties to his name, which are not publicly disclosed.

Maduro, in March 2020, was charged in a federal indictment with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

The DEA has, to date, seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, as per Bondi. The AG said the drugs are the primary source of income for Mexican and Venezuelan-based cartels.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also frequently criticized Maduro, saying he's not the legitimate leader of Venezuela, following the disputed election win in 2024.

“One year since dictator Nicolás Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner, the United States remains firm in its unwavering support to Venezuela’s restoration of democratic order and justice. Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government,” Rubio had said.

“Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles, and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe. Maduro, currently indicted by our nation, has corrupted Venezuela’s institutions to assist the cartel’s criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States,” he added.

In January, when the State Department announced the $25 million reward, said that Maduro was part of a violent narco-terrorism conspiracy along with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – a designated foreign terrorist organization. Maduro reportedly also negotiated shipments of FARC-produced cocaine, directed the Cartel of the Suns to equip FARC with military-grade weapons, and coordinated with drug traffickers in the Honduras and other nations to facilitate large-scale trafficking of drugs.

Apart from the charges against him, the Justice Department has also seized over $700 million of assets linked to Maduro, which includes two private jets and nine vehicles, the AG shared.

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