President Donald Trump announced Friday that U.S. forces killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. Trump stated that the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to execute Guerrero, whom he described as the infamous leader of one of the most bloodthirsty terrorist organizations on Earth.
The operation was conducted in close coordination with the government in Caracas. While the announcement was made on Friday, June 12, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth specified that the strike took place earlier this week.
The State Department has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization since February 2025. The Trump administration has previously targeted the organization's leadership with sanctions due to alleged involvement in money laundering, human trafficking, and illicit drug smuggling.
President Trump has claimed that Tren de Aragua coordinated its activities within the U.S. with the Venezuelan government under President Nicolás Maduro. This alleged connection has been used by the administration to justify the deportation of some immigrants in the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.