President Trump announced Friday that a US military operation has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, a top commander in the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua, in what he called a "swift and lethal" strike coordinated with Venezuela's government.
Trump disclosed the operation on Truth Social, stating that US Southern Command executed the operation "at my direction" against what he described as one of the world's most violent terrorist groups. He posted video footage of the strike and emphasized that the action was "coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well."
Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, faced federal racketeering charges in New York court and had been the subject of a $5 million State Department reward for information leading to his capture. Federal prosecutors had accused him of orchestrating more than a decade of violent crimes, extortion, and drug trafficking spanning North America, South America, and Europe.
The strike marks an escalation in Trump's confrontation with the gang. His administration has previously ordered strikes on small vessels suspected of drug smuggling and has waged a sustained campaign linking Tren de Aragua to violence and crime across American cities.
The gang designation as a terrorist organization stems from claims by the Trump administration that its members have "invaded" the United States. Those characterizations have faced pushback from some in the Venezuelan exile community, though the administration has repeatedly blamed the organization for fueling violence and drug trafficking in US urban areas.
Jay Clayton, the US attorney who led the prosecution of Guerrero Flores and was nominated by Trump on Thursday to serve as director of national intelligence, had described Tren de Aragua as responsible for widespread criminal violence, extortion, and narcotics distribution.
Trump used the announcement to attack his predecessor's immigration policies, stating that "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." He referenced the deaths of Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Reilly, two Americans killed in separate attacks by undocumented immigrants, cases that have become focal points in the conservative immigration debate.
The president had spent months claiming that Tren de Aragua operated under the direct control of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. That assertion contradicted a declassified US intelligence assessment. Maduro was removed from Venezuela and extradited to face US drug trafficking charges in January.
Author James Rodriguez: "The strike kills a genuine criminal actor, but Trump's broader narrative about the gang's scope and control remains contested by intelligence officials and critics who see political opportunism in the claims."
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