The United States Southern Command carried out a targeted kinetic strike that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization.
President Donald Trump announced the operation Friday night, confirming SOUTHCOM “delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike” to eliminate the 43-year-old Venezuelan national.
The U.S. Department of State had previously offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores’ arrest or conviction.
Trump posted a statement on Truth Social tying the strike to a broader campaign against criminal organizations he says were allowed to operate freely under the prior administration.
“Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity,” Trump wrote.
Trump invoked the names of victims he attributed to Tren de Aragua violence, including “the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls.”
The president said the military action had “brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones,” framing the strike as fulfillment of a campaign promise.
Trump also stated the operation was coordinated with Venezuelan authorities, writing, “This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.”
He added that as a result of the strike, “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else,” vowing to pursue remaining leaders “anytime, anyplace.”
Tren de Aragua originated as a prison gang in Venezuela’s Aragua state before expanding into a transnational criminal organization, according to the U.S. State Department.
Guerrero Flores spent years incarcerated at Tocorón Prison in Aragua State, where authorities say he expanded the gang’s reach by extorting inmates and bribing prison guards.
The group eventually seized overall control of Tocorón Prison itself, along with gold mines in Bolivar State, drug corridors on the Caribbean coast, and clandestine border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia.
Earlier in his administration, Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a move he cited as central to his strategy of dismantling cartel and gang networks operating across the Western Hemisphere.
