The U.S. military has killed the alleged leader of Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua, President Trump announced Friday.
The president said on Truth Social that U.S. Southern Command carried out a “swift and lethal kinetic strike” to “successfully execute” Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero. The mission was “closely coordinated” with the Venezuelan government.
His social media post included a video that showed a projectile hitting a building, causing it to erupt in flames.
“Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong,” Mr. Trump wrote.
President Trump / Truth Social 
Guerrero Flores, 43, was indicted late last year in New York federal court on charges that included racketeering, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and cocaine conspiracy. The State Department offered up to $5 million for information leading to his capture.
Also known as “The Unspeakable” or “The Big Eyebrow,” Guerrero Flores ran Tren de Aragua for more than a decade, helping to grow it from a Venezuelan prison gang to a transnational organization with a presence throughout the Americas, including in the United States, federal prosecutors say. The indictment accused him of leading a criminal enterprise that trafficked drugs and people, extorted local populations and committed acts of violence.
U.S. Department of State 
Prosecutors allege that Guerrero Flores initially operated Tren de Aragua out of Tocorón Prison, directing gang members on the outside and collecting a fee from their activities. CBS News’ partner network, BBC News, reported that Guerrero Flores was in and out of Tocorón Prison for years: He escaped in 2012 and was rearrested a year later. He was sentenced to a 17-year prison term in 2018, but escaped again in 2023, remaining at large after that.
Guerrero Flores lived “like a king” during part of his time in prison, BBC News reported. He occupied an entire floor monitored by bodyguards, and the prison had a swimming pool, a zoo and a nightclub. Last year’s indictment alleged the Venezuelan government allowed him to “control the day-to-day operations of the prison.”
