US offers $15m for information leading to arrest of Venezuela’s Maduro

The United States has offered a $15m reward for any information leading to the arrest of embattled Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro.

This came after the United States Department of Justice indicted Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro and several key aides including the chief justice on charges of narco-terrorism on Thursday, March 26.

The socialist leader and other Venezuelan officials were accused of conspiring with Colombian rebels “to flood the United States with cocaine”.

A statement by the US Department of Justice read:

“We estimate that somewhere between 200 and 250 metric tonnes of cocaine are shipped out of Venezuela by these routes. Those 250 metric tonnes equates to 30 million lethal doses.

“The Venezuelan people deserve a transparent, responsible, representative government that serves the needs of the people – and that does not…. engage in illicit narcotics trafficking.

“These individuals violated the public trust by facilitating shipments of narcotics from Venezuela, including control over planes that leave from a Venezuelan airbase.”

Maduro and more than a dozen Venezuelan officials including the country’s chief justice were charged with narco-terrorism. The socialist leader and other Venezuelan officials were accused of conspiring with Colombian rebels “to flood the United States with cocaine”.

Mr Maduro narrowly won a presidential election in April 2013 after the death of his mentor, President Hugo Chávez. He was elected to a second term in May 2018 in an election seen as flawed by international observers.

Venezuela has experienced economic collapse, inflation was 800,000% last year and three million people have left the country.

Though opposition leader, Juan Guaidó who has won the support of many in the country as well as US and EU leaders has continuously accused President Maduro of being unfit for office, the socialist leader has however remained in power and is backed by Russia, China and Cuba.