(Reuters) - Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Thursday that drug trafficking charges by the U.S. against President Nicolas Maduro announced earlier in the day showed the “desperation” of the “Washington elite.”

Arreaza said the Trump administration’s decision to offer rewards for the capture of Maduro and other high-ranking officials accused of drug trafficking show the administration’s “obsession” with Venezuela, which he said was due to its desire to reap “electoral returns” in the state of Florida