U.S. Kills Tren de Aragua Leader Niño Guerrero in Venezuela Airstrike, Trump Says

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as “Niño Guerrero,” in an airstrike in Venezuela, saying, "At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero."

“US strike against Tren de Aragua leader in Venezuela exemplifies Trump's approach to war on drugs The Trump administration killed Venezuelan gang leader El Niño Guerrero during an airstrike conducted by the U”

ABC News

The BBC reported that the strike was carried out in Venezuela and that Trump described it as coordinated with Venezuelan partners, while CNN said Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez stated the joint operation was carried out “in the southeast of Bolívar state.”

ABC News

Trump’s post included a 10-second video showing a building with a galvanized metal roof being blown apart, and the U.S. Southern Command said the mission was “closely coordinated” with Venezuelan authorities.

ABC News reported that the airstrike occurred in southeastern Bolivar state, and it described the attack as reflecting a strategic shift toward direct U.S. involvement in the war on drugs.

NPR added that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the strike occurred earlier in the week on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela, as Trump called Guerrero Flores “the infamous leader” of the gang.

Venezuela’s government confirmed involvement, with ABC News saying it described the airstrike as part of a “joint operation” to fight organized crime, while CNN reported that Delcy Rodríguez said the U.S. and Venezuela exchanged both intelligence and specialized technical support.

CNN also reported that Trump said the U.S. and Venezuela collaborated to kill Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, and it quoted Trump’s language that the U.S. would “find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.”

ABC7 Los Angeles

ABC News quoted Adam Isacson, a national security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, saying, “Instead of aiding other militaries to carry out operations, they are now happy to carry out these attacks on their own,” as it described analysts’ concerns about direct U.S. strikes.

NPR said the U.S. has taken extraordinary actions against the gang, including strikes on small boats, and it noted that the campaign has drawn criticism from lawmakers, legal experts and human rights groups who questioned the legality of using military force against suspected traffickers.

NPR further stated that Trump and administration officials have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for violence and illicit drug dealing in some U.S. cities, while also saying a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment contradicted Trump’s claim about Maduro’s control over the gang.

The strike was framed by U.S. officials as part of a broader campaign against drug trafficking and organized crime, with Trump writing that “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else,” and with CBS News reporting that Venezuela’s communications ministry confirmed Guerrero Flores was killed in a “combined operation” between U.S. forces and Venezuelan security services.

“US kills leader of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang in air strike, Trump says The US military has killed the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in an air strike in the country, President Donald Trump has announced”

BBC

NPR said the State Department had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores’ arrest, and it described his long record of prison escapes and convictions as the basis for U.S. charges including racketeering conspiracy and other crimes.

Task & Purpose reported that the strike was the apparent first announced military operation inside Venezuela since Operation Absolute Resolve, the Jan. 3 attack on Caracas that saw U.S. forces capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

BBC reported that in January American forces seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from his compound in a dramatic overnight raid to face criminal charges in New York, and it said the U.S. accused him of collaborating with the gang.

ABC News added that Venezuela’s interim government has passed laws facilitating foreign investment in the oil and mining industries, and it quoted Bram Ebus saying, “This operation cannot be seen apart from Washington’s bigger push to access Venezuela’s natural resources.”