US Military Strike Killed Venezuelan Notorious Criminal Gang Leader; Says Trump
United States President Donald Trump has announced that American military forces carried out a strike that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, widely known as “Niño Guerrero,” the notorious leader of Venezuela’s criminal organization, Tren de Aragua.
Trump made the announcement on Friday through a post on his Truth Social platform, describing the operation as a “swift and lethal kinetic strike” executed by the U.S. Southern Command.
“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organisations on Planet,” Trump wrote.
The U.S. president added that the operation was conducted in close coordination with Venezuelan authorities.
“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well,” he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed the operation in a post on X, stating that the strike was carried out earlier in the week and that Guerrero’s death had been verified.
“Guerrero was confirmed killed during the strike,” Hegseth wrote.
The Venezuelan government, through its Information Ministry, acknowledged that security forces conducted an operation against criminal groups during which Guerrero was “neutralized.”
According to the ministry, the mission involved advanced technological support and was carried out through intelligence-sharing and cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan authorities.
Guerrero had long been one of the most wanted criminal figures in Latin America and was accused of overseeing a vast network of criminal activities linked to the Tren de Aragua organization.
The Trump administration has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Guerrero and other gang leaders over allegations including drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, contract killings and organized smuggling operations across Latin America.
The U.S. State Department previously designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, citing its growing influence across the Americas.
Trump has also alleged that the group maintained links with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, claims that have been used by his administration to justify the deportation of certain migrants from the United States to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
Tren de Aragua emerged from Venezuela’s prison system and expanded into one of the continent’s most feared transnational criminal organizations.
The gang is believed to control key migration and smuggling routes used by Venezuelan and other South American migrants traveling toward Chile, Europe and other destinations.
The organization has been linked by regional law enforcement agencies to human trafficking, extortion, money laundering, kidnapping and violent criminal operations stretching from Panama to Brazil and throughout the Andean region.
Guerrero gained international attention after escaping from Venezuela’s Tocorón prison in 2023 alongside other gang leaders shortly before authorities launched a major raid on the facility.
