Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and two of his close allies, Diosdado Cabello Rondón and Vladimir Padrino López have been declared wanted for drug trafficking by the President Donald Trump’s government.
This was made public in a statement released on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of State.
It 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.
“@USTreasury just sanctioned Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist group. Run by the corrupt and contemptible Nicolás Maduro, it is responsible for trafficking drugs into the U.S.,” said the department.
It added, “Help us take down Maduro and his cronies Diosdado Cabello Rondón & Vladimir Padrino López!”
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.
The announcement comes just one day after Maduro marked the one-year anniversary of his re-election—a vote the U.S. and its allies have described as fraudulent.
The United States has long refused to recognise Maduro’s government and has imposed multiple sanctions targeting Venezuela’s political and economic leadership.
