Key facts
- President Trump announced the U.S. military killed Tren de Aragua gang leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores in an airstrike.
- The strike occurred in rural Venezuela and was coordinated with the Venezuelan government.
- The operation signifies a strategic shift by the Trump administration toward direct U.S. military involvement in combating foreign criminal organizations.
- The strike took place in southeastern Bolivar state, a region known for illegal gold mining.
- The Tren de Aragua gang was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department last year.
President Trump announced that the U.S. military conducted an airstrike in rural Venezuela that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang. The strike, which occurred a few days prior and was coordinated with the Venezuelan government, marks a significant shift in the U.S. approach to combating foreign criminal organizations.
Trump stated that Guerrero's organization, also known as TDA, has been linked to extortion, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration in the United States. The State Department designated TDA as a foreign terrorist organization last year, and federal prosecutors have accused Guerrero of shipping drugs to the U.S. and orchestrating cross-border terror acts.
Venezuela's government confirmed its collaboration with the U.S. on the operation, describing it as a joint effort against organized crime. The strike took place in Bolivar state, a region where criminal groups have been involved in illegal gold mining for over a decade. Analysts suggest this operation could be part of a broader strategy to facilitate foreign investment in Venezuela's mining sector.
Guerrero, who was 42 at the time of his death, was a high school dropout from Maracay who transformed the prison gang into a powerful criminal organization active in eight South American countries. He was imprisoned in Tocoron jail, from which he escaped and was later recaptured.