U.S. Strike Kills Tren de Aragua Leader in Venezuela Operation

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump announced Friday that U.S. forces killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, in what he described as a “swift and lethal kinetic strike” carried out by U.S. Southern Command.

Trump said the operation targeted one of the world’s most violent criminal organizations and marked a major blow against a transnational gang that U.S. officials have accused of spreading drug trafficking, human trafficking, extortion, and violence across the Western Hemisphere.

“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 said.

The strike reportedly targeted a compound in Venezuela and was coordinated with Venezuelan authorities. Pentagon officials confirmed that Guerrero was killed earlier in the week, while Venezuela said the operation involved clashes with criminal elements and included intelligence-sharing and specialized technology.

Guerrero had long been considered the central figure behind Tren de Aragua’s expansion from a Venezuelan prison gang into a sprawling criminal network operating across Latin America, the United States, and Europe. U.S. officials previously sanctioned him and other gang leaders, accusing them of involvement in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and violent organized crime.

The Trump administration has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, arguing that the gang’s operations pose a direct threat to American communities and national security. Guerrero had also been indicted in the United States on serious federal charges, including racketeering and terrorism-related offenses.

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