Jesús Daniel Romero, Co-founder and Senior Fellow of MSI² for FinGurú
An Unprecedented Moment
The announcement on July 31, 2025, by Attorney General Pam Bondi—raising the reward for Nicolás Maduro to $50 million—marks a turning point in U.S. foreign policy toward Venezuela. Never before has a foreign head of state faced such a high figure in the U.S. rewards program (Western Journal, 2025).
The decision comes less than a week after the Treasury Department designated the Cartel of the Suns as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (SDGT). With this, Washington officially sealed the equivalence between Maduro's regime and transnational terrorist networks.
A Message that Transcends Caracas
In international politics, numbers matter. A $50 million reward not only seeks to attract informants; it also sends a global message: the United States is willing to invest political, financial, and military capital to neutralize whoever it considers a strategic threat. Such a level of reward places Maduro above figures like Osama bin Laden in terms of operational priority (U.S. Department of State, 2025).
The Axis of Criminal Alliances
The SDGT designation is not isolated. It acknowledges that the Cartel of the Suns, under Maduro's control and military high command like Diosdado Cabello, has woven a network with actors such as the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and organizations linked to Hezbollah. This criminal convergence has turned Venezuelan territory into a logistical and financial node for drug trafficking and terrorism (Insight Crime, 2024).
Regional Reactions and the Political Factor
Responses in Latin America reveal a divided map. In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum distanced herself from any investigation against Maduro, while in Colombia, Gustavo Petro framed U.S. pressure as a “threat” to his neighbor (Semana, 2025; El Tiempo, 2025). These stances complicate hemispheric coordination and strengthen the narrative of the Venezuelan regime as a victim of “external aggressions.”
The Venezuelan Internal Front
Meanwhile, opposition figures like María Corina Machado have hardened their rhetoric. The regime asserts that he is hiding in the former U.S. diplomatic mission in Caracas, an accusation that, if part of a coordinated strategy, suggests a political internal front synchronized with international pressure (BBC Mundo, 2025).
The tone and lexicon in English employed by Machado—precise, technical, and diplomatic—resonates remarkably with that of Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
In his message on June 27, 2025, Landau stated:
“Your beloved Venezuela, where I lived during my youth 40 years ago, has suffered a long and unimaginable nightmare. But all nightmares eventually come to an end”—a phrase almost identical to Machado's narrative, reinforcing the perception of an aligned communication line between the Venezuelan opposition and Washington (Voz.us, 2025).
Short-Term Scenario
The combination of the reward and the SDGT designation opens the door to broader intelligence operations, financial pressure, and covert actions. If Washington follows the pattern applied against other high-value targets, we are likely to see an increase in interagency operations and cooperation with willing allies, particularly in the Caribbean and South America.
Conclusion
The $50 million against Maduro is not a rhetorical gesture. They represent the formalization that, for Washington, the Venezuelan regime has crossed the threshold between political adversary and national security enemy. The hemispheric board is being reconfigured, and every move—whether in diplomatic offices or clandestine runways—will be observed under the shadow of a historic figure.
References
Al Jazeera. (August 8, 2025). U.S. doubles reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to $50 million. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/8/us-doubles-reward-for-arrest-of-venezuelas-president-maduro-to-50m
Anadolu Agency. (August 8, 2025). Mexico has no proof of links between Sinaloa Cartel and Nicolás Maduro: Sheinbaum. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/mexico-has-no-proof-of-links-between-mexican-drug-cartel-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro/3655364
BBC Mundo. (June 27, 2025). United States threatens to leave OAS over response regarding Venezuela and Haiti. https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2025-06-27/us-threatens-to-leave-oas-over-venezuela-and-haiti-response/
U.S. Department of State. (June 26, 2025). Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/06/deputy-secretary-of-state-christopher-landau-at-the-organization-of-american-states-general-assembly
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (July 25, 2025). The Treasury sanctions the Venezuelan cartel led by Maduro. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0207
U.S. Department of State. (August 8, 2025). Increase of reward to $50 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Nicolás Maduro. https://www.state.gov/reward-offer-increase-of-up-to-50-million-for-information-leading-to-arrest-and-or-conviction-of-nicolas-maduro/
El Economista. (August 8, 2025). Sheinbaum claims no evidence that Nicolás Maduro has links to the Sinaloa Cartel. https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/politica/sheinbaum-asegura-pruebas-nicolas-maduro-tenga-vinculos-cartel-sinaloa-20250808-771865.html
EFE. (June 27, 2025). U.S. threatens to leave OAS over response to Venezuela and Haiti. https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2025-06-27/us-threatens-to-leave-oas-over-venezuela-and-haiti-response/
InSight Crime. (August 1, 2025). U.S. sanctions mischaracterize the Cartel of the Suns of Venezuela. https://insightcrime.org/news/us-sanctions-mischaracterize-cartel-of-the-suns-venezuela/
RCN Radio. (August 10, 2025). President Petro warned that any attack on Venezuela is an aggression against Latin America. https://www.rcnradio.com/internacional/presidente-petro-advirtio-que-cualquier-ataque-a-venezuela-es-una-agresion-a-latinoamerica
Voz.us. (June 27, 2025). Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau responded to opposition leader María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is living a long nightmare, but it will come to an end.” https://voz.us/en/world/250628/26318/device-secretary-of-state-christopher-landau-responded-to-opposition-leader-maria-corina-machado-venezuela-is-living-long-nightmare-but-it-will-come-to-an-end.html
Jesús Daniel Romero is a Retired Commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence, Co-founder, and Senior Fellow of the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²).
A columnist for Diario Las Américas in Miami, Florida, he is also the author of the Amazon bestseller "The Final Flight: The Queen of Air" and a regular consultant for major media outlets in the United States, Latin America, and Spain on topics of his expertise.
Comments