The United States government has officially declared Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, and two of his top associates, Diosdado Cabello Rondón and Vladimir Padrino López, wanted for drug trafficking offences.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the US Department of State announced a staggering $65million reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the trio.
President Maduro carries a $25million bounty, while $25million and $15million have been placed on Cabello and Padrino, respectively.
The US government accused Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, and Vladimir Padrino of being key leaders of the Cartel de los Soles, a group recently designated as a terrorist organisation by the US Treasury Department.
According to the State Department, the cartel is allegedly responsible for smuggling large quantities of narcotics 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, an election which was described as fraudulent by the U.S. and its allies.
The United States has long refused to recognise Maduro’s government and has imposed multiple sanctions targeting Venezuela’s political and economic leadership.
A similar announcement was made by the US Government in January for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office.
The inauguration ceremony was overshadowed by recrimination from the international community and Venezuelan opposition leaders.
Rewards were also offered for information leading to the arrest and or conviction of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. A new reward of up to $15m for Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino has also been offered.
The UK also issued sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials, including judges, members of the security forces and military officials.
