President Trump says a US military strike has taken out the man he calls the "infamous leader" of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Hector "Nino" Guerrero was killed in what Trump described Friday on Truth Social as a "swift and lethal" operation carried out in close coordination with Venezuelan authorities, per the Washington Post. The president shared video of a projectile demolishing a building, though he didn't give a location. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later said the strike hit a compound in Venezuela earlier this week and framed it as a joint move to deny "narco-terrorists" safe haven in the region.
A person briefed on the mission said Joint Special Operations Command used a missile, and that the CIA coordinated with Venezuelan forces on the ground as the strike took place, also providing the intelligence that enabled the hit. Venezuela confirmed that it took part in the strike, noting that it happened in the state of Bolivar, per the AP. "During the operation, clashes occurred with members of criminal groups, resulting in the death of Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias 'Nino Guerrero,' the leader of one of these criminal organizations," a government statement notes.
The action marks a sharp turn in US military cooperation with Caracas, once labeled by Washington as a protector of Tren de Aragua, per the Post. The group, which grew from a Venezuelan prison into a regional criminal network involved in migrant smuggling and extortion, was named a foreign terrorist organization by the United States last year. US officials had previously offered $5 million for information leading to Guerrero's capture. Telemundo 51 has more on Guerrero's life.
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