A social media post by the official U.S. Embassy in Venezuela went viral on Thursday after it posted an image highlighting the U.S. government's bounties on authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and senior official Diosdado Cabello.
The post on X showed the State Department's "wanted" posters for both men, but with Cabello's image altered so that he appears to look at Maduro with jealousy because the amount asked for the latter is twice as large. A speech bubble above Cabello reads "¿Qué tiene él que no tenga yo?" ("What does he have that I don't?").
¿Qué tiene él que no tenga yo?
— Embajada de los EE.UU., Venezuela (@usembassyve) August 21, 2025
Si tienes información que pueda conducir al arresto o condena de Diosdado Cabello y Nicolás Maduro envíala al +1-281-787-9939 (llamadas, WhatsApp, Signal o Telegram) o a CartelSolesTips@dea.gov pic.twitter.com/0yJr0Hah9j
The joke drew focus to the difference in rewards: $50 million for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, and $25 million for Cabello. Both men face U.S. indictments on charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and conspiracy to use machine guns in support of drug trafficking.
The rewards were first offered in 2020 under Donald Trump and later expanded, with the doubling of Maduro's bounty announced two weeks ago by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi has accused Maduro of coordinating with Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization, as well as Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. She said the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons tied directly to him. Cabello faces similar allegations.
The mockery comes amid a wider escalation in U.S.–Venezuela tensions. On Monday, three Aegis guided-missile destroyers arrived off the coast of the South American country, allegedly as part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. In response to the U.S. activity, Maduro announced on Monday the mobilization of more than 4.5 million militia members, citing threats from Washington.
On Wednesday, tensions grew even further as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole described Venezuela as "a narco-terrorist state" and accused its government of working with Colombian guerrilla groups FARC and ELN to ship "record amounts of cocaine" to Mexican cartels for transport into the United States.
Cole also warned that the U.S. has already seized more cocaine in 2025 than in previous years and linked the Maduro government to the expansion of synthetic drug trafficking. "Venezuelan corruption, the Venezuelan dictatorship, is narco-terrorist," Cole told Fox News.
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