The United States is offering $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maikel Moreno, president of Venezuela’s highest court.
The hefty reward was announced in a Tuesday press release along with new sanctions barring travel to the U.S. for Moreno and his wife. The 54-year-old chief justice has already been indicted in U.S. federal court for money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Alysa Erichs, acting executive associate director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, touted the move as a positive step in the fight against corruption.
“HSI remains committed to investigating corrupt officials like Moreno Perez, who exploited the Venezuelan court system for his personal benefit and laundered ill-gained proceeds in the United States,” Erichs said. “HSI welcomes the announcement by the Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program and sees this as an important step to ensuring that Moreno Perez faces justice for the crimes he allegedly committed.”
Moreno, a close ally of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, brushed off the fresh sanctions and $5 million bounty in a Tuesday statement.
“This is not the first time that the mouthpieces of the North American empire seek to attack me with their clumsy attacks, full of manipulations and lies,” Moreno said, according to Reuters.
Pompeo said in a statement that Moreno, in his position, has “personally received money or property bribes to influence the outcome of civil and criminal cases in Venezuela.”
The U.S. and many other countries recognize opposition figure Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of Venezuela after allegations that Maduro’s 2018 reelection was rigged. The U.S. has continued to push for Maduro, who succeeded former leader Hugo Chavez, to step down from power, but he has resisted as the country continues to grapple with a withering economic crisis.
“The United States continues to stand with the people of Venezuela in their fight against corruption and for the peaceful restoration of democracy,” Pompeo said Tuesday.
