Washington has decided to make its intentions unmistakable: regime change in Venezuela remains on the American agenda.
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that the reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has been doubled from $25 million to $50 million. Officially justified by charges of international narcotrafficking and corruption, this move also serves as a blunt geopolitical signal: the United States will keep tightening the noose until Caracas yields.
Washington’s open challenge to Maduro
The US bounty on Nicolas Maduro was announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi via X, stating that the Justice Department and State Department are united in their push. Caracas immediately branded the move “pathetic,” a familiar term in the Maduro playbook when confronted with U.S. sanctions or ultimatums.
This is not a spontaneous escalation. The accusations date back to 2020, at the tail end of Trump’s first term, when American prosecutors claimed Maduro oversaw a cartel funneling hundreds of tonnes of cocaine to U.S. territory, often in coordination with Colombian FARC guerrillas and Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s own criminal powerhouse, is also cited as a partner in this alleged network.
A political war dressed as law enforcement
While Washington insists it is fighting transnational crime, the political dimension is unmistakable. Maduro’s 2024 re-election was dismissed by both the Biden and Trump administrations as illegitimate, with U.S. officials openly calling for his removal. Current Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that Maduro has “strangled democracy” since 2020.
The expanded US bounty on Nicolas Maduro comes alongside a tightening oil embargo and the threat of tariffs on any nation purchasing Venezuelan crude. In practice, it is a siege, economic and reputational, intended to exhaust the regime’s resources and fracture its inner circle.
Caracas plays the siege narrative
For Maduro’s government, the announcement fits neatly into its long-standing narrative: U.S. imperialism, covert sabotage, and manufactured plots. On the same day as the reward increase, Venezuela’s Interior Ministry claimed to have foiled a bomb attack in Caracas, blaming the opposition and Washington. Whether real or staged, such incidents help Maduro sustain a climate of siege that justifies his concentration of power.
The real stakes
Beyond the rhetoric, this is a calculated power play. Washington is betting that raising the price on Maduro’s head will embolden defectors in the Venezuelan security apparatus. The White House is signalling that time is running out for the regime, while Caracas, embattled but not yet cornered, will likely double down on alliances with Russia, Iran, and China.
History suggests that bounties rarely topple entrenched leaders. But in the realm of political pressure, this one serves its purpose: making sure no one in the region forgets that the United States considers Nicolas Maduro a wanted man, and a personal project of Donald Trump’s foreign policy comeback.
