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President Donald Trump said connected Friday (June 12, 2026) that a “swift and lethal kinetic” U.S. onslaught had killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, whom helium called “the infamous leader” of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Tren de Aragua has been labelled by the United States arsenic a violent organisation. Guerrero Flores was charged successful a New York national tribunal with racketeering conspiracy and different crimes, including lending enactment to terrorists successful crimes that stretched much than a decade, authorities announced successful December.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted connected X that the onslaught occurred earlier successful the week connected a Tren de Aragua compound successful Venezuela.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said astatine the clip that the pack is liable for countless acts of violence, extortion and cause trafficking successful North America, South America and Europe. Mr. Trump nominated Mr. Clayton connected Thursday (June 11, 2026) to beryllium the manager of nationalist intelligence.
The U.S. State Department had offered rewards of up to $5 cardinal for accusation starring to Guerrero Flores' arrest.
In a station connected his societal media site, Mr. Trump wrote, “Tren de Aragua terrorists nary longer person harmless haven successful Venezuela oregon anyplace other and, nether my leadership, we volition find these vicious murderers and cause lords anytime, anyplace, and nonstop them to the depths of hellhole wherever they belong.” Mr. Trump's station referred to Guerrero Flores by his alias, “Niño Guerrero.”
Mr. Hegseth said, “The cognition underscores the shared U.S. and Venezuelan committedness to instrumentality the combat to narco-terrorists and contradict them immoderate harmless haven successful our hemisphere.”
Venezuela's Ministry of Communications did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the operation.
Mr. Trump has taken a bid of bonzer actions against the gang, including a bid of strikes connected tiny boats his medication has accused of smuggling drugs to America. At slightest 207 radical person been killed successful vessel strikes by the U.S. subject successful the eastbound Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the Trump medication began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” successful aboriginal September.
Mr. Trump and medication officials person consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being astatine the basal of the unit and illicit cause dealing that plague immoderate U.S. cities. The President spent months repeating the assertion — contradicted by a declassified U.S. quality appraisal — that Tren de Aragua had operated nether Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's control. The U.S. whisked Mr. Maduro retired of Venezuela to look U.S. cause charges successful January.
Tren de Aragua originated much than a decennary agone astatine an infamously lawless situation with hardened criminals successful Venezuela's cardinal authorities of Aragua. The pack has expanded successful caller years arsenic millions of Venezuelans migrated to different Latin American countries oregon the U.S. successful hunt of amended surviving conditions.
Guerrero Flores returned to the situation successful Aragua for execution and different convictions successful 2013, erstwhile Venezuela's situation began arsenic corruption, mismanagement and a driblet successful crude prices wrecked the oil-dependent economy. Guerrero Flores and a fewer different inmates saw a profitable accidental arsenic the authorities neglected prisons.
They assumed power and medication of the prison, establishing a strategy that controlled the full inmate colonisation done unit and extortion. Over time, they transformed the installation into a benignant of metropolis that included a zoo, shot field, casino and restaurants. Guerrero Flores had his ain lavish suite.
The size of the pack is unclear. Countries with ample populations of Venezuelan migrants, including Peru and Colombia, person accused the radical of being down a spree of unit successful the region. Still, dissimilar different transgression organizations from Colombia, Central America and Brazil, Tren de Aragua has nary large-scale engagement successful smuggling cocaine crossed planetary borders, according to InSight Crime, a deliberation vessel that tracks transgression crossed Latin America.
In Venezuela, pack leaders person agelong been known to enactment successful assorted amerciable activities, including golden mining.
Mr. Trump campaigned for a 2nd term, promising to ace down connected migration and crime. While polls amusement his favorability ratings person sagged connected his handling of the economy, migration remains Mr. Trump's strongest issue, according to the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
