The US has offered a $50million (£37million) reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuela's socialist President, Nicolas Maduro.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the dictator of collaborating with violent groups including organised crime group Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa drug cartel.
The US was previously offering a $25 million (£18.5 million) reward for information leading to Maduro's capture - which has now been doubled.
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US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video on X accusing the dictator of collaborating with violent groups
| REUTERSIn a video shared to social media, Bondi said: "Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly violence to our country.
"He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security."
Bondi revealed the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had so far seized 30 tonnes of cocaine traced back to Maduro and his associates.
The Attorney General highlighted that cocaine is often laced by cartels with fentanyl - which claimed the lives of an estimated 50,000 Americans in 2024.
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Bondi claimed that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had so far seized 30 tonnes of cocaine traced back to Maduro and his associates
|GETTY
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been a long-standing critic of Maduro and his socialist regime, and said the Venezuelan was not the country's legitimate leader following his disputed election win in 2024.
Last month, Rubio said: "One year since dictator Nicolas 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."
The far-left dictator first came to power in 2013, leading the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
Rubio's State Department had previously issued a $25 million (£18.5 million) reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest in January
| GETTYRubio continued: "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."
AG Bondi added that the US Justice Department has seized a substantial number of assets tied to Maduro, including nine vehicles and two private jets, worth a total in excess of $700million (£520.5million).
The State Department has said that Maduro was involved in a violent narco-terrorism conspiracy alongside the designated terrorist organisation, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The agency has also said that the Venezuelan leader was heavily involved in negotiations for multi-ton shipments of cocaine produced by the FARC and ordered the Cartel of the Suns to provide arms to the Colombian group.
In 2022, United Nations experts concluded that Maduro's intelligence agencies were committing crimes against humanity to supress critics of his oppressive regime.
Marta Valinas, chair of the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, said: "Grave crimes and human rights violations are being committed, including acts of torture and sexual violence."
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