President Donald Trump announced Friday that American military forces conducted an operation that eliminated Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known by the alias Niño Guerrero, who headed the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.
“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet,” Trump wrote in a Friday evening Truth Social post.
“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.”
The president did not provide details about the timing of the military operation.
Venezuela’s information ministry has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the announcement.
The current administration has previously imposed sanctions on Guerrero and other Tren de Aragua leadership figures for their suspected roles in criminal enterprises including drug trafficking, human smuggling, and financial crimes.
The State Department has classified Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization.
Trump has previously asserted that Tren de Aragua works in coordination with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government for its operations within the United States. The administration has used this purported relationship as justification for sending certain immigrants to a high-security detention facility in El Salvador.
The White House, Pentagon and U.S. Southern Command have not yet provided responses to requests for additional information.
