U.S. Seizes $700 Million in Maduro-Linked Assets, Doubles Bounty to $50 Million

The U.S. Department of Justice has confiscated more than $700 million in assets it says are linked to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a televised interview on Wednesday. Bondi detailed that the seizures include two multimillion-dollar private jets, several mansions in Florida and the Dominican Republic, a horse farm, nine luxury cars, and millions of dollars in jewelry and cash. She characterized the operation as part of a broader campaign against what she called “organized crime, no different than the mafia.” The announcement follows the U.S. government’s decision on Aug. 7 to double the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million. Washington accuses the Venezuelan president of overseeing large-scale narcotics trafficking through networks such as the Cartel of the Suns, which officials have recently designated as a terrorist organization.