US raises bounty for Maduro after Venezuela swears him in for new term

The US State Department has raised the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office, from $15 million to $25 million.

It also offered $25 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

It further created a new reward of up to $15 million for the arrest or conviction of Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.

Finally, it announced that it is placing new sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials in order to freeze any assets they have in the United States.

The US government has claimed that the rewards and the new round of sanctions are meant to show “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and put pressure on Maduro and his allies.

Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in for third presidential term, pledges to form 'new democracy'

Maduro became president following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013.

On Friday, President Maduro took the oath of office, vowing his third six-year term in office would be a “period of peace.”

“I swear by history, I swear by my life, and I will fulfill it,” he noted. “The Venezuelan people have defeated imperialism, and its sly diplomacy.”

Maduro was declared winner of the country’s presidential election on July 28 by electoral authorities. He secured 51 percent of the votes, but the US and its allies refuse to recognize his victory and support his pro-Western rival.

US hostility against Venezuela started more than two decades ago with the launch of the Bolivarian Revolution by late Venezuelan anti-imperialist and revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez.

Since the mid-2010s, US administrations have subjected Caracas to extreme sanctions meant to destabilize the economy of the oil-rich country.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk