Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 12, 2026 10:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said U.S. forces carried out a strike that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also ‌known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of 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 said in ⁠a post ⁠on Truth Social on ‌Friday evening.

"This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well."

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ‌posted on X that the strike was conducted earlier this week and that Guerrero "was confirmed killed during the strike."

Venezuela's information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Targeted with sanctions

The Trump administration has ‌repeatedly targeted Guerrero and other leaders of the Tren de Aragua organization with sanctions over alleged involvement in criminal activities such as illicit drug smuggling, human ​trafficking and money laundering.

The U.S. State Department has designated Tren de Aragua ⁠a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump has claimed Tren de Aragua ⁠co-ordinated its U.S. activities with the Venezuelan government of ⁠President ⁠Nicolás Maduro. The Trump ​administration has cited the alleged connection to justify deporting some ​immigrants in ⁠the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

Tren de Aragua is known for being involved in human trafficking and ⁠controls routes taken by Venezuelans and other South American migrants heading south ⁠to ⁠relatively prosperous Chile and other ​destinations in South America or Europe.

The group has also been linked to ​extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, contract ⁠killings, smuggling and organized retail theft from Panama to Brazil and along the Andean corridor, Latin American police officials say.

Guerrero escaped from the Tocoron prison in Venezuela along with other gang leaders just before a police raid in 2023.