Trump says US strike killed leader of Tren de Aragua gang
"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 the planet," Mr...
A US strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores — better known as Niño Guerrero — the alleged head of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, President Donald Trump said, announcing the operation in stark terms.
“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 the planet,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social..
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“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that the strike took place earlier this week and that Mr Guerrero “was confirmed killed during the strike.”
Venezuela’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has repeatedly gone after Mr Guerrero and other Tren de Aragua leaders, imposing sanctions tied to alleged criminal activity including illicit drug smuggling, human trafficking and money laundering.
The State Department has designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organisation.
Mr Trump has also alleged that Tren de Aragua coordinated its operations inside the United States with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. His administration has pointed to that claimed link as justification for deporting some immigrants in the US to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
Tren de Aragua has become widely known for its role in human trafficking, and for controlling routes used by Venezuelans and other South American migrants travelling south toward relatively prosperous Chile and other destinations in South America or Europe.
Latin American police officials say the group has also been tied to extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, contract killings, smuggling and organised retail theft stretching from Panama to Brazil and along the Andean corridor.
Mr Guerrero escaped from Tocorón prison in Venezuela with other gang leaders shortly before a police raid in 2023.
