Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro giving a public speech on the 28th of last month [Caracas Reuters=Yonhap News. Redistribution and DB prohibited]

(Mexico City=Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Jaerim = The U.S. Donald Trump administration has strongly criticized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a "major international drug trafficker" and decided to double the reward for his arrest.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in a 1-minute and 29-second video posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account on the 7th (local time) that "Maduro is one of the world's biggest drug traffickers and a threat to U.S. national security," and announced an increase in the reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest from $25 million (approximately 34.6 billion won) to $50 million (approximately 69.2 billion won).

Attorney General Bondi alleged that the Venezuelan president is using organizations designated as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (FTOs) by the U.S. administration, such as "Trendearagua" (TdA), the "Sinaloa Cartel," and "Cartel de los Zetas," to smuggle deadly drugs into the United States.

He explained, "So far, 30 tons of cocaine involved with Maduro and his accomplices have been seized, and approximately 7 tons of it have been confirmed to be linked to Maduro," adding, "Cocaine often contains the drug fentanyl, which has claimed the lives of numerous Americans."

The U.S. Department of Justice also reported the seizure of $700 million (approximately 970 billion won) in assets linked to Maduro, including two private airplanes and nine vehicles.

During his first term, U.S. President Trump implemented a sanctions drive to pressure the Maduro regime, including introducing sanctions related to Venezuelan crude oil exports.

During this process, U.S. companies that had been trading with Venezuela also suffered losses, and the former Biden administration had applied sanctions exemptions to some of these companies.

However, President Trump, who launched his second term in January, is intensifying sanctions against President Maduro, who began his third six-year term this year amidst controversies over fraudulent vote counting in last year's presidential election, and his associates.

The Trump administration, which is imposing tariffs on trading partners for various reasons, is strongly curbing Venezuela, the "world's largest oil reserve holder," by imposing a 25% "Secondary Tariff" on importers of Venezuelan oil.

walden@yna.co.kr

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