US doubles reward for Venezuelan president's arrest to $50m

The US has doubled its award for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50m (£37.2m) as it accuses him of working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.

At the time Maduro was indicted in Manhattan federal court in 2020 on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, the US offered a $15m reward for his arrest. Under US President Donald Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, the offer went up to $25m - the same amount the US offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden following the 11 September 2001 attacks.

"Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes," Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday in a video announcing the new reward. Ms Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than $700m in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and said nearly seven tonnes of seized cocaine had been traced directly to the leftist leader.

Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gil released a statement characterising the reward as "pathetic" and accusing Ms Bondi of orchestrating a "crude political propaganda operation". Read more from Sky News:Trump's deadline for Putin to agree to Ukraine ceasefire arrivesOpenAI releases long-awaited AI chatbot upgrade "We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from.

"The same one who promised a nonexistent 'secret list' of Epstein and who wallows in scandals for political favours," Mr Gil said, referring to the backlash Ms Bondi faced after the Justice Department announced last month that a long-rumoured "client list" of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein does not exist. "Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery.".