Niño Guerrero: US kills leader of Tren de Aragua gang in strike, Trump says

US Airstrike Targets Leader of Venezuelan Gang Tren de Aragua, Trump Announces

The United States military carried out an airstrike that killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero and identified as the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, President Donald Trump stated on social media. Trump posted video footage appearing to show an explosion at a green building and adjacent shed. He described the action as a strike executed by the United States Southern Command.

Trump wrote that the operation was conducted at his direction and coordinated with Venezuelan authorities. Venezuelan officials confirmed participation in what they termed a joint operation. The president noted ongoing cooperation with Venezuela on security matters.

Guerrero Flores had led Tren de Aragua for an extended period. The group originated as a prison gang in Venezuela and later expanded operations across several countries. The US State Department had previously designated the organization a transnational criminal group and offered rewards for information leading to arrests of its members. Under Guerrero Flores, the gang extended activities into Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, according to US government statements. It also gained control of certain gold mines in Bolívar state and routes along the Caribbean coast, per the same sources.

Guerrero Flores spent multiple periods in Venezuelan prisons. In 2012 he escaped custody by bribing a guard and was rearrested the following year. While held at Tocorón prison in Aragua state, he oversaw the development of facilities that included a zoo, restaurants, a nightclub, a betting shop, and a swimming pool. In September 2023, Venezuelan forces numbering 11,000 conducted an operation to regain control of the facility, after which Guerrero Flores again escaped.

Tren de Aragua formed alliances with local criminal networks in other countries. In Ecuador, reports linked it to groups connected to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. In Colombia, some accounts described cooperation with factions of the National Liberation Army guerrilla organization. The gang’s presence outside Venezuela grew after 2014 amid the country’s economic conditions, with nodes reported in eight additional countries, including the United States.

In January, US forces removed then-President Nicolás Maduro from his compound in an overnight operation. Maduro was subsequently taken to New York to face criminal charges. US authorities had accused him of ties to Tren de Aragua, and an indictment listed Guerrero Flores as a co-conspirator. Following Maduro’s removal, the United States established working relations with his successor, Delcy Rodríguez. Sanctions on Rodríguez were lifted, and discussions advanced on cooperation regarding Venezuela’s oil reserves.

More than 200 people have died in separate US military strikes on vessels since September, according to reports from US media outlets. The Department of Defense has not released public evidence confirming that the targeted boats carried narcotics or smugglers. Some legal analysts have questioned whether the strikes comply with international law, citing the absence of due process for individuals on the vessels. The Trump administration has maintained that the actions are lawful. In a prior statement to Congress, the White House indicated that the president had determined the United States to be in an armed conflict with certain drug trafficking organizations and classified crews on the targeted boats as combatants.

The US government had previously labeled Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization. Trump has described the group’s activities as irregular warfare directed against the United States.