Tren De Aragua Leader Killed in US Airstrike, Trump Says
President Trump announced U.S. forces killed Tren de Aragua leader Hector Guerrero in a Venezuela airstrike, marking an escalation against transnational gangs.
United States military forces have killed the top leader of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua in a precision airstrike, President Donald Trump announced Friday, marking a significant escalation in American operations against transnational criminal organizations operating across the Western Hemisphere.
Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, was eliminated in a strike authorized directly by the president and carried out by US Southern Command, according to New York Post. The 42-year-old gang leader had been the subject of a State Department reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and conviction.
Trump revealed the operation on Truth Social, sharing video footage that showed a missile striking a building in an isolated area and producing a massive explosion. The president characterized the strike as retribution for violent crimes committed by the organization, which he described as a foreign army that had been permitted to operate freely against American citizens during the previous administration.
The strike took place earlier this week at a Tren de Aragua compound inside Venezuela, War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on X. The operation was conducted in full collaboration with Venezuelan security forces, representing a notable shift in bilateral cooperation between Washington and Caracas.
Trump emphasized that the operation was coordinated closely with Venezuela, stating that his administration is working well with the South American nation. He declared that Tren de Aragua operatives no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else.
Gang Evolved From Prison Syndicate to Terrorist Network
The Trump administration formally designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025, enabling expanded legal and military options against the group. An indictment unsealed last December in the Southern District of New York charged Guerrero with participating in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons violations.
US Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that Guerrero had been the mastermind behind Tren de Aragua’s transformation from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization responsible for violence, extortion, and drug trafficking across North America, South America, and Europe.
Aggressive Campaign Against Criminal Networks
The elimination of Guerrero represents the latest phase of an intensified American campaign against Tren de Aragua operations. Since September 2024, the Trump administration has conducted aggressive targeting of suspected gang members, striking dozens of alleged drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. Those operations have resulted in the deaths of more than 200 suspected narcoterrorists, according to official figures.
The president framed his approach as fulfilling campaign promises to designate the organization as terrorists, deport thousands of criminal aliens, and wage war against cartels that had previously operated with impunity.
With information from New York Post
