Attorney General Pam Bondi released a video on X where she detailed new drug trafficking allegations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but the Venezuelan Foreign Minister is now pushing back and claiming this is all an elaborate plan to distract Americans from the Jeffrey Epstein fallout.
In the video that has now been shared multiple times on X, Attorney General Bondi announced that the Department of Justice has doubled the bounty for President Maduro to $50 million. In the stern video, Bondi revealed that the US Drug Enforcement Administration had seized 30 tons of cocaine they were able to link to Maduro and his associates.
JUST IN: U.S PUT A BOUNTY ON VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) August 7, 2025
The DOJ announce a $50 MILLION reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas MADURO
Bondi said:
“He is one of the largest narco traffickers in the world, and a threat to our national security,”
Bondi… pic.twitter.com/3RW6P80TbS
Bondi alleged that the returns from these drug sales are what go on to fund Venezuela’s “deadly gangs.” She added that cocaine is often laced with fentanyl, leading to the loss of life for multiple Americans. Bondi assured Americans that Trump’s administration will ensure they end Maduro’s reign despite not having a unified message on Venezuelan gangs.
According to the BBC, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has dismissed these reports of a doubled reward fee. Gil termed it “pathetic.” Trump’s antagonism with the Maduro regime is not new by any means, but this time they are questioning his individual moral authority on the world stage. According to Gil, all this is just “political propaganda” and Trump’s latest attempt to distract Americans from the scandal surrounding calls to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
In all fairness, reports came out at the beginning of the week revealing that Bondi was going to join other Trump officials to concoct a plan that would finally make the public stop talking about the Epstein files. Allegedly, they were even planning to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast and change the national conversation. Despite the Trump administration vehemently denying the report, it is easy to see why Maduro’s regime would also point to it during a time of conflict with the US.
That being said, there is reason not to believe statements released by the Venezuelan government. Maduro got into power in 2013, and since then has been known for crushing opposition politicians through violence. There was an election held in the country last year, but it was questioned by observers and governments from all over the world. There were very testy protests challenging his win, but Maduro managed to hold on to power in the end.
The international community has been very strict on Maduro’s regime. Earlier in the year, when he started his latest term, the UK and the US sanctioned Venezuela. And when former head of Venezuelan military intelligence Hugo Carvajal traveled to Spain, he was arrested and then extradited to the US, where he was convicted of several drug trafficking charges.
Carvajal was once a trusted ally of Maduro, but he tried to participate in an army-led coup that supported the Venezuelan opposition. He then fled the country after it failed. He eventually went to accept the drug charges leveled against him. Some believe that he is now working to provide information about Maduro.
