The Trump administration has for years said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was a criminal and has looked to prosecute him through the US legal system.
In 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for “narco-terrorism,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and related charges.
The Trump administration offered a $15 million bounty for the arrest of the Venezuelan leader. That bounty was increased to $25 million in the waning days of the Biden administration, in early January 2025, and was increased to $50 million in August 2025 after Trump took office for a second term and designated Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. The administration has claimed that Maduro is the leader of that group, which it describes as a criminal organization.
“This allegation, this claim, that the Maduro regime is a narcoterrorist organization is not on the basis of political talk or speculation. It is on the basis of evidence provided to a grand jury in the Southern District of New York that returned an indictment,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference last month.
Trump said in a social media post early Saturday that Maduro had been captured “in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement” and promised more details later in the day.
Republican US Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said he spoke with Rubio on Saturday morning and the top US diplomat told him “that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by US personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.”
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X that the administration’s operation brought “a new dawn for Venezuela.”
“The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes,” Landau wrote.
Birds of a feather flock together. We are waiting for a statement from that loud mouthed chap. If he remains mute, them just know that he is fake and opportunitistic. Drug charges are very serious. Was his support coming from drug money? We have sent students to Venezuela, using what money, mambala iwe? Let’s see if you will now deny or support you friend.