The Biden administration said Friday it would provide $25 million for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The announcement is Washington’s retaliation for President Maduro’s decision to begin his third term on Friday. While Mr. Maduro has provided no evidence that he won the July election, his opponent, Edmundo González, has provided publicly available vote counts in the thousands, which he said mean he easily won the most votes. .
The United States recognized Mr. González as Venezuela’s president-elect and called for Mr. Maduro to step down.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the State Department offered a $15 million reward for help in capturing Mr. Maduro. At the time, he was indicted in the United States on charges of drug terrorism and an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy that spanned decades. Maduro remains indicted.
The Justice Department’s formal condemnation of a foreign leader was an unusual move that signals the United States is likely to take an increasingly hard line against President Maduro.
The new $25 million bounty represents an expansion.
The United States will also offer $10 million to $25 million for information leading to the arrest of Interior Secretary Diosdado Cabello.
And the State Department added a $15 million reward to help secure the detention of Venezuelan Defense Secretary Padrino López.
Just minutes after President Maduro was re-sworn in on Friday, the U.S. Treasury said it would impose new sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials, adding to the growing list of Maduro allies already under sanctions.
This measure freezes the assets these officials hold in the United States.
“The United States and its allies in the region have put pressure on Maduro to commit to a democratic transition,” Treasury official Bradley T. Smith said in a statement. Instead, Maduro and his representatives have continued violent repression to remain in power and ignored the calls of the Venezuelan people for democratic accountability.”
The Biden administration will also expand protections provided to the estimated 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States with Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows immigrants from countries experiencing crisis to live and work legally in the United States. announced that it would.
If you apply to become a Venezuelan immigrant, your status may be extended for an additional 18 months.
