On the Colombian Border with Venezuela – A Billboard Posted a Reward for Maduro and Cabello
On the billboard, in English, was the $50 million bounty the U.S. is offering for Maduro.
A billboard displaying a reward offered by the United States government for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, was installed this Saturday on the Colombian side of the border with the Caribbean nation. The large sign surprised those traveling today on the Simón Bolívar International Highway, which connects Colombia and Venezuela, near the municipality of Villa del Rosario, near Cúcuta, the capital of the border department of Norte de Santander. On the billboard, in English, is the $50 million reward the U.S. is offering for Maduro and $25 million for Cabello, for crimes such as “conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism” and to export cocaine, among others.
On August 7, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro. Maduro was charged with drug trafficking and terrorism in 2020 during Donald Trump’s first presidency. This was followed by a $25 million reward for his capture in January. According to the United States, the Venezuelan government is linked to the Cartel of the Suns, a drug trafficking group classified as a terrorist organization. The Secretary of Government of Villa del Rosario, José Guillermo Ruiz, told reporters that the fence was installed without any authorization or compliance with the requirements established by the municipal administration.
“We contacted the person responsible for the process, the Undersecretary of Urban Control, who confirmed that no permit existed and requested the removal of the advertising,” he added. This week, the U.S. sent three Navy ships carrying 4,000 troops to Caribbean waters near Venezuela, which, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, are intended to “use all their power” to stem the “flow of drugs into their country.” This deployment has heightened tensions in Venezuela, where pro-government militias are holding a recruitment drive in barracks and plazas this Saturday, called by Maduro. María Corina Machado is on Instagram, thanking everyone in the USA below:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNvdnB_YvuE
María Corina Machado Calls for Disobedience to Maduro’s Call for Military Enlistment
Government supporters gathered in several parts of Caracas to enlist and urged the population to join. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called this Saturday for disobedience of the weekend readiness campaign for “militia forces” called by President Nicolás Maduro, in response to the planned U.S. patrol of ships in the Caribbean Sea near the South American country to combat drug trafficking.
“They want to use you to appear strong, when the reality is that they are falling apart. They expect you to come out and defend them when they are hiding,” Machado wrote on his X account, along with the request: “Disobey; ignore them, leave them alone.” The former parliamentarian also emphasized that “the empty squares throughout Venezuela today” reflect, in her opinion, “the future that is approaching.” Maduro called for a militia registration day in every Plaza Bolívar in the country and in the barracks. This Saturday, reporters were able to confirm that Venezuelan government supporters gathered in various parts of Caracas to enlist in the Bolivarian National Militia (MNB) and urged the population to join the event, which will initially run until Sunday.
The mayor of Libertador Municipality, Carmen Meléndez, joined, along with other local authorities, in the activity, which was replicated, as news reporters confirmed, in other locations such as La Pastora Square, also in downtown Caracas. According to images broadcast by the state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the enlistment campaign for the MNB, which is made up of civilian volunteers and was created in 2009 by the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), also took place in several Venezuelan states, including Lara, Bolívar, Táchira, Trujillo, Sucre, and La Guaira. Last Monday, Maduro ordered the deployment of 4.5 million militiamen across the country, after the US increased the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million.
A day later, on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt asserted that Washington is prepared to “use all its power” to stem the “flow of drugs into its country,” which would include sending ships and troops to waters near Venezuela. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino urged people not to “get nervous” as the enlistment process begins. According to the military commander, this Saturday’s demonstration is “a voluntary mobilization of the people to register for a very powerful body created by the Bolivarian Revolution,” which, he asserted, is “spread throughout the national territory.”
