US strike killed Tren de Aragua leader Nino Guerrero, Trump says
Why it matters: Guerrero led the gang’s expansion across Latin America, and Washington labels Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist group.
President Donald Trump said US forces killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, better known as Nino Guerrero, in a strike carried out earlier this week against the head of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. Trump said the operation was coordinated with Venezuelan counterparts, while Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth wrote that Guerrero was confirmed dead. Venezuela’s information ministry did not immediately comment. Tren de Aragua began as a prison gang and grew into a transnational criminal network tied to human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering and drug smuggling. Guerrero had escaped from Tocoron prison before a 2023 raid and remained a top US target as Washington increased pressure on the group and linked it to migrant smuggling routes across the region.
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