SUMMARY
A day after announcing Venezuela's drug-cooperation certification, the U.S. State Department clarified to broadcaster NTN24 that "our assessment of the Cartel de los Soles has not changed and the reward offers remain in effect". The reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Diosdado Cabello - interior minister and the regime's number two - stands at up to 25 million dollars, and the offer of up to 15 million for former defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez also remains active. Cabello was indicted in 2020 in the Southern District of New York on narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons charges; the reward against him rose from 10 million dollars (March 2020) to 25 million (January 2025). Despite the charges, he retains one of the most senior security posts in Caracas under interim president Delcy Rodriguez, controlling the national police and pro-government armed colectivos.
OUTCOME
The clarification underscored the central tension of the new Washington-Caracas relationship: the United States is certifying the cooperation of an interim government in which a man it wants captured holds high office. Experts cited in the press stressed that investigations into the Cartel de los Soles "have not ended" and that the certification should not be read as absolution of its alleged members, who remain designated and sanctioned.
INVOLVED MEMBERS
SOURCES