US hikes reward for Maduro arrest after ‘illegitimate’ swearing-in

WASHINGTON: The US hiked its reward for information leading to Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s arrest to US$25 million Friday, saying his swearing-in was illegitimate after he “clearly lost” last year’s election.

“The Venezuelan people and world know the truth – Maduro clearly lost the 2024 presidential election and has no right to claim the presidency,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement, shortly after Maduro took the oath of office for a third term.

Blinken called the ceremony “an illegitimate presidential inauguration” as he reiterated Washington’s position that exiled opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was Venezuela’s rightful president-elect.

Maximum rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro – as well as his interior secretary Diosdado Cabello – were being raised to US$25 million, Blinken said.

He also announced a new US$15 million reward for Venezuelan defence minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez.

All three rewards stem from US narco-trafficking charges announced in March 2020, two years after Maduro’s first re-election that Washington also rejected as illegitimate.

In a separate announcement, the US treasury department said it was sanctioning eight senior officials who lead “key economic and security agencies enabling Nicolas Maduro’s repression and subversion of democracy in Venezuela.”

Those designated include high-level officials from the military and police, and the presidents of the country’s state-owned oil company and airline.

“Since last year’s election, Maduro and his associates have continued their repressive actions in Venezuela,” acting treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.

“The US, together with our likeminded partners, stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people’s vote for new leadership and rejects Maduro’s fraudulent claim of victory,” he added.

The UK, Canada and the EU were taking “similar actions” on Friday, demonstrating “a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people,” the treasury department said.