Letter to the editor: Maduro bounty not justice

The United States offers a $15 million bounty for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture, claiming we want him to face justice for drug trafficking. But this bounty reveals a troubling contradiction: It can’t be collected through legitimate law enforcement.

Maduro won’t voluntarily travel to countries that would extradite him. He’s surrounded by loyal security forces inside Venezuela. So how exactly would anyone collect this reward? The realistic options are a U.S. military invasion — an act of war violating international law — or an insider coup d’état. Neither represents legitimate justice.

This exposes what the bounty really is: not a law enforcement tool, but an incentive for regime change through extrajudicial means. We’re essentially offering $15 million for someone to overthrow or kidnap a foreign head of state.

If we’re genuinely committed to rule of law rather than regime change, we should pursue evidence-based prosecutions through international legal channels and multilateral cooperation. Bounties that can only be collected through invasion or coup undermine our credibility and set dangerous precedents.

You can’t claim to champion justice while paying for extrajudicial solutions.

Randall Brock

Leechburg