MBABANE:United States(US) President Donald Trump seems determined to arrest and remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as warships approach Venezuela.
The US Department of State announced a $50million reward earlier this month to be paid to anyone who will assist in arresting Maduro.
“The Department of State and the Department of Justice are announcing a reward offer increase of up to $50 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP) for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Nicolás Maduro for violating U.S. narcotics laws. For over a decade, Maduro has been a leader of Cartel de los Soles, which is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States. On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Cartel de Los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Since 2020, Maduro has strangled democracy and grasped at power in Venezuela. Maduro claimed to have won Venezuela’s July 28, 2024, presidential election but failed to present any evidence that he had prevailed. The United States has refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of 2024 election and does not recognize him as the President of Venezuela”, reads the statement from the US State Department.
It has been reported that, President Donald Trump is considering sending soldiers to invade Venezuela and even though he claims to be fighting a drug cartel, “political analysts say the main target is President Maduro”.
As a result, warships are fast approaching Venezuela in preparation for the invasion.
Reuters News Agency reported this week that, tensions between the United States and Venezuela “are rising amid a large U.S. naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels”.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks with the press after holding a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on October 15, 2021.(Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images).