Donald Trump’s administration is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro‘s right-hand man, Diosdado Cabello Rondón.
The US Department of State has issued a ‘wanted’ poster for the alleged cocaine kingpin, who is currently Venezuela’s Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace.
He is accused by the US government of being part of a ‘corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials.’
The 62-year-old official controls the security forces which have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including killing civilians, sexually abusing girls and women, and planting evidence and weapons on innocent people.
Cabello Rondón also allegedly coordinated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a terrorist organization, to funnel cocaine into the US, according to the wanted poster.
The litany of allegations leveled against him include the provision of heavily-armed security guards to protect cocaine shipments traveling from South to North America, and selling cocaine to drug traffickers in exchange for millions of dollars.
He is also accused of interfering with drug-trafficking investigations and pending criminal cases in Venezuela, and helping provide the FARC with weapons, including machine guns, ammunition, rocket launchers, and explosives equipment.
Cabello Rondón was charged March 2020 in a Southern District of New York federal indictment with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and associated firearms charges, initially with a $10 million reward.
The US Department of State has issued an urgent ‘wanted’ poster, shown above, for Cabello Rondón, 62, who is Venezuela’s Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace
Cabello Rondón is accused by the US government of being part of a ‘corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials’
This was increased to $25 million on Saturday, one week after US troops captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound in Caracas.
They were each charged with drug trafficking offenses and await trial in Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City. They have pleaded not guilty.
‘Diosdado Cabello Rondón is currently Nicolás Maduro Moros’ so-called minister of interior, justice, and peace, having oversight over Venezuela’s police forces and prisons,’ the wanted poster for his right-hand man reads.
‘After Maduro fraudulently declared victory in the July 2024 presidential election despite evidence to the contrary, Maduro purported to appoint Cabello to this position.
‘The US government does not recognize Maduro as the winner of the election and does not recognize Cabello as a minister of the government of Venezuela.
‘Cabello Rondón has also served as the former president of Venezuela’s Constituent National Assembly, President and Vice-President of Venezuela, and is an active member of the Venezuelan armed forces with the rank of Captain.’
US Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, whose district covers parts of Miami, the American city home to the greatest concentration of Venezuelan expats, blasted Cabello Rondón’s as a ‘regime strongman’ who is ‘complicit with Maduro’.
The US Department of State has issued an urgent ‘wanted’ poster for Cabello Rondón, 62, who is Venezuela’s Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace. (Pictured: Cabello Rondón speaking at a pro-Maduro capture following the capture of the Venezuelan dictator by US troops)
US troops captured Maduro and his wife from their compound in Caracas last week
‘For the Trump Administration to achieve a real transition in Venezuela, sooner or later Diosdado Cabello must face US justice,’ the Florida Rep wrote on X.
‘He is a regime strongman, complicit with Maduro in exporting drugs and criminals that have poisoned our communities.
‘When Diosdado is brought to justice, it will be a decisive step toward a democratic transition in Venezuela and the release of all political hostages.’
Anyone with information is asked to contact their local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office, or the nearest US Embassy or Consulate for those outside the US.
Cabello Rondón is in charge of the apparatus of the state, which has long been accused of grievously abusing Venezuelans by killing civilians, sexually abusing girls and women, and planting evidence and weapons on innocent people.
According to a UN 2019 report into the state of human rights in Venezuela, the Special Action Forces (FAES) has regularly taken part in the extrajudicial executions of people, particularly in Venezuela’s slums, since its inception in 2016.
The UN found that FAES operatives dressed head to toe in black would regularly arrive at homes across slums in unmarked black pickup trucks while armed to the teeth.
