Trump announces US strike killed Tren de Aragua gang leader in Venezuela
President Donald Trump said on Friday that a US military strike earlier this week killed Hector Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, in an operation coordinated with Caracas.
The strike announcement
President Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the US Southern Command “delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike” that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero.
At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren de Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth.
Trump added that the action was coordinated closely with Venezuela. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth later confirmed on X that the strike was conducted earlier this week and that Guerrero “was confirmed killed during the strike.” The operation’s precise location and date remain undisclosed, but Trump shared an aerial video showing a building being destroyed.
Who was Niño Guerrero?
Guerrero led the Tren de Aragua prison gang, which has expanded across South America, engaging in human trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and contract killings. The gang controls migrant routes from Venezuela to Chile and Europe, according to Latin American police officials. The US State Department designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed Guerrero on its most wanted list, charging him with providing material support to terrorism and directing a criminal enterprise. He escaped from Venezuela’s Tocorón prison in 2023 just before a police raid, along with other gang leaders.
US-Venezuela coordination
Trump said the strike was “coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.” The rare collaboration signals a shift, as the Trump administration had previously accused the Maduro government of coordinating with Tren de Aragua, using that alleged link to justify deporting some immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Later, US commandos deposed and captured President Nicolás Maduro and took him to the United States to face drug charges, which marked a turning point in bilateral security operations.
Political implications
The strike may be the most significant US military action in Venezuela since Maduro’s capture, according to The Independent. Trump, in his Truth Social post, declared that Tren de Aragua terrorists “no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else” and vowed to hunt them down. The operation comes as the US continues to expand its campaign against cartels, and the use of a kinetic strike inside Venezuela underscores the administration’s willingness to act unilaterally when it sees cooperation with the local government.
Video release and timing
Trump released a video of the aerial strike destroying a low-lying building on the same night as the US men’s national team kicked off its World Cup opener against Paraguay and fighters arrived for a UFC event at the White House. The juxtaposition of the strike announcement with major sporting moments drew attention, but the video itself served as dramatic evidence of the US military’s capability to target high-value cartel leaders.
