US Politics
Trump admin roundly mocked over $50M bounty for Nicolas Maduro
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The Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi are being savagely mocked on social media after doubling the reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuela’s president.
Thursday’s announcement from Bondi saw the phrase, “He’s in Venezuela,” trending on X, with users saying that should be enough information for the administration.
Bondi accused Nicolas Maduro of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
“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 reward.
Many users also pointed out that news of the new reward comes as the Trump administration struggles to deal with the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files debacle.
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“He’s in Venezuela… With the Epstein files…,” joked one user alongside a gif of Trump and Epstein partying in Mar-a-Lago in 1992. “He’s in Venezuela… but also we need those Epstein files,” said another.
“He’s in Venezuela. I take Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, & Apple Pay. Now quit deflecting & release the full, unredacted Epstein Files,” said another person.
“DOJ offers a $50m reward for info on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. Well, it doesn’t take a James “Bondi” to know he’s in Venezuela,” wrote another user.
Many wrote, “He’s in Venezuela. Where’s my money?”
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil released a statement characterizing the reward as “pathetic” and accusing Bondi of orchestrating a “crude political propaganda operation.”
“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 favors,” Gil said, referring to the backlash Bondi faced after the Justice Department announced last month that a long-rumored “client list” of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein does not exist.
“Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery.”
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Maduro was indicted in Manhattan federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several close allies on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. At the time, the U.S. offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.
That was later raised by the Biden administration to $25 million — the same amount the U.S. provided for the capture of Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Despite the big bounty, Maduro remains entrenched after defying the U.S., the European Union, and several Latin American governments who condemned his 2024 reelection as a sham and recognized his opponent as Venezuela’s duly elected president.
Last month, the Trump administration struck a deal to secure the release of 10 Americans jailed in the capital, Caracas, in exchange for Venezuela getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Shortly after, the White House reversed course and allowed U.S. oil producer Chevron to resume drilling in Venezuela after U.S. sanctions previously blocked it.
Bondi said the Justice Department has seized more than $700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and said nearly 7 tons of seized cocaine had been traced directly to the leftist leader.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.