Yes. The Biden administration did put a reward (often described as a “bounty”) on Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, and it later helped raise the amount before leaving office.

What actually happened

  • In March 2020, under Donald Trump, the U.S. first announced a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest on U.S. narcoterrorism and cocaine-trafficking charges. This was done through the State Department’s rewards program, not as an assassination order.
  • In early January 2025, near the end of Joe Biden’s term, the U.S. government increased the reward to about $25 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture, framing it as a response to Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election and Maduro beginning a new term that Washington viewed as illegitimate.

So, if the question is “did Biden have a bounty on Maduro,” the answer is yes in the sense of a law-enforcement style reward for arrest/extradition, not a public kill order or hit.

Why it’s called a “bounty”

  • The U.S. used its long-standing “Rewards for Justice” / State Department reward mechanisms , which offer money for information leading to arrest or conviction in U.S. courts. These are technically legal rewards, but media and forums often call them “bounties.”
  • The justification emphasized:
    • Accusations that Maduro was part of a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and a “narco-terrorism” network.
    • The U.S. view that Venezuela’s elections were fraudulent and that Maduro’s continued rule lacked democratic legitimacy.

Later increase and political context

  • After Biden left office and Donald Trump returned to the presidency, the U.S. reward was later doubled to around $50 million , making it one of the highest such rewards for a foreign leader.
  • Venezuelan officials denounced these rewards as “political aggression” and propaganda , arguing that Washington was trying to delegitimize Maduro’s government and interfere in internal affairs.

Key takeaways for the “Quick Scoop”

  • Yes , there was a Biden-era reward (bounty) on Maduro, raised to roughly $25 million for information leading to his arrest.
  • It built on an earlier Trump-era $15M reward and was later expanded again under Trump’s subsequent term to about $50M.
  • This was framed legally as a law-enforcement reward tied to drug-trafficking and terrorism charges, not an explicit assassination bounty, though critics and commentators still describe it using “bounty on his head” language.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.