The Biden Administration said on Friday it was offering $25 million for information that could lead to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela.
This announcement is a step by Washington to take revenge for the decision of Mr. Maduro to take a third term in office on Friday. Mr. Maduro has not presented evidence that he won the July election, while his rival Edmundo González has presented thousands of publicly available ballots that he says show he easily won the majority of the vote.
America saw Mr. González as the president-elect of Venezuela and urged Mr. Maduro to step aside.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the State Department offered a $15 million reward for help arresting Mr. Maduro. At the time, he was indicted in the United States, accused of a decades-long terrorist conspiracy and a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy. Mr. Maduro is still indicted.
The Justice Department’s formal indictment of a foreign head of state was an unusual move that signaled the United States might take a hard line against Mr. Maduro.
A new profit of $25 million represents an increase.
The United States will also offer $25 million for information that can lead to the arrest of the country’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, from $10 million.
And the State Department added another reward: $15 million for help with the arrest of Venezuela’s defense minister, Padrino López.
After a few minutes Mr. After Maduro was sworn in for another term on Friday, the US Treasury Department also said it was imposing new sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials, adding to the long list of Maduro supporters already under sanctions.
The measures freeze assets the officials have in the United States.
“The United States and its allies in the region have forced Maduro to commit to democratic transition,” said Bradley T. Smith, a Treasury official in a statement. “Instead, Maduro and his proxies have continued their violent repression in an attempt to maintain power, and have ignored the calls of the Venezuelan people for democratic accountability.”
The Biden administration also announced that it would increase the protections given to about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States with temporary protected status, a program that allows immigrants from troubled countries to live and work legally in the United States.
Venezuelan immigrants who apply can be extended another 18 months.
Source link
