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Accusing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of being "one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world," the US has doubled the reward for information leading to his arrest to $50 million. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the US would double its already announced reward of $25 million, adding that Maduro was directly linked to drug smuggling operations.
US President Donald Trump is a long-time critic of Maduro, who returned to office in January following an election marred by vote-rigging allegations. The results were widely rejected by the international community.
The UK and EU announced sanctions against Maduro's government following his return to office earlier this year.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the new reward was "pathetic" and labelled it "political propaganda".
"We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from," Gil said, accusing Bondi of attempting a "desperate distraction" from headlines related to backlash over the handling of the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
During Trump's first term, the US government charged Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials with a range of offences, including narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking.
At the time, the US Department of Justice claimed Maduro had worked with the Colombian rebel group Farc to "use cocaine as a weapon to 'flood' the United States".
In a video posted on X on Thursday, Bondi accused Maduro of coordinating with groups like Tren de Aragua - a Venezuelan gang that the Trump administration has declared a terrorist organisation - and the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful criminal network based in Mexico.
She claimed the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had "seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself".
Maduro has previously rejected US claims he has direct involvement in drug trafficking.
Bondi's comments are an extension of long-running tensions between the US and Venezuelan government - but the attorney general did not provide any further indication over how the government envisioned the renewed appeal and cash incentive would yield results.
