President Donald Trump announced that a U.S. military strike killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The operation, coordinated with Venezuela, occurred at a gang compound.
The strike signifies a significant escalation in U.S. efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations and underscores the administration's commitment to targeting leaders of groups designated as terrorist organizations.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a "kinetic, fast, and lethal" United States strike resulted in the death of Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, whom he described as the "notorious leader" of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Washington classifies Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization. Guerrero Flores had been indicted in a New York federal court on charges of racketeering conspiracy and other offenses, including providing support to terrorists, spanning over a decade, authorities announced in December. The U.S. Department of State had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores' arrest.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on social media that the attack occurred a few days prior at a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela. He stated the operation underscores the shared commitment of the United States and Venezuela to combat narcoterrorists and deny them safe haven in the hemisphere. The Venezuelan Ministry of Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has previously taken extraordinary measures against the group, including multiple strikes against small vessels his administration accused of trafficking drugs to the United States. At least 207 people have died in U.S. military attacks on vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the Trump administration began targeting what it calls "narco-terrorists" in September 2025.
The Tren de Aragua originated more than a decade ago in a notorious Venezuelan prison, with hardened criminals, in the central state of Aragua. The gang has expanded in recent years as millions of Venezuelans emigrated. In 2013, Guerrero Flores returned to prison in Aragua to serve sentences for murder and other crimes. Guerrero Flores and other inmates took control of the prison, establishing a system that controlled the inmate population through force and extortion, transforming the facility into a complex that included a zoo, baseball field, casino, and restaurants, with Guerrero Flores having his own luxury suite.