U.S. Indicts Venezuelan Leader Maduro as a "Narcoterrorist"

The United States has charged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and more than a dozen other top officials with "narco-terrorism." U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the indictments on Thursday. He accused the group of conspiring with Colombian rebels to "flood the United States with cocaine." The charges claim Maduro and his allies used drug trafficking as a "weapon" to undermine American society. They are also accused of using cocaine profits to maintain their hold on power in Venezuela. First Lady Cilia Flores and the head of Venezuela’s supreme court are among those charged. The U.S. State Department is offering a $15 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest. Pam Bondi, a former state attorney general assisting the case, delivered a direct warning. "They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," she said. The Venezuelan government immediately rejected the charges as a political attack. Analysts see the move as a major escalation in U.S. pressure to remove Maduro from power.