Politics

US Details Seizure of Assets Worth Over $700M Allegedly Linked to Maduro

AUG 16 2025·Updated AUG 17 2025

Story

Above: U.S. officials place a "seized" sign on a Venezuelan government airplane on Feb. 6, 2025. Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela quoted Attorney General Pam Bondi in a post in Spanish on social media on Friday detailing the seizure of assets worth $700 million allegedly linked to Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. Embassy in Venezuela
This was the second time that the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela account on X reproduced Bondi's remarks to Fox's Spanish-language outlet Fox Noticias in an interview aired on Wednesday.
The Miami Herald
U.S. Embassy in Venezuela
According to Bondi, the U.S. has seized Maduro-related assets worth $700 million, including two multimillion-dollar jets, a mansion in the Dominican Republic, several multimillion-dollar homes in Florida, a multimillion-dollar horse farm, about nine cars and millions of dollars in jewelry and cash.
EL PAÍS English
FOX News
In response, top Venezuelan officials Diosdado Cabello and Yván Gil have dismissed allegations that these assets belonged to Maduro. They claim that he has always lived a simple life, and that Washington wants to pass off stolen state assets as seized personal property.
teleSUR English
Yván Gil
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of State announced a record-high reward of $50 million for actionable intelligence leading to the arrest and extradition of Maduro, who has been indicted in New York on drug trafficking charges.
FOX News
The Miami Herald
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reasserted to reporters on Thursday that Maduro leads a criminal organization, namely Cartel de los Soles, not a legitimate government.
U.S. State Department

Sources Split

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The Spin

Anti-Maduro narrative

Maduro runs a massive criminal enterprise disguising itself as a government, and the fact that the U.S. has already seized $700 million in luxury assets belonging to him proves this narcoterrorist has been living lavishly off drug profits. Justice demands his capture.

FOX News

Pro-Maduro narrative

These accusations represent another imperial script targeting Venezuela with fabricated claims. What the U.S. actually did was steal planes belonging to Venezuela, rather than seizing personal assets belonging to Maduro, a man who has long lived a simple life.

Yván Gil