Trump says US military eliminated ‘infamous’ Tren de Aragua leader in lethal strike
President Donald Trump on Friday night announced the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) "delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike" to successfully execute Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero, the "infamous" leader of Tren de Aragua (TdA).
The U.S. Department of State previously offered up to a $5 million reward for the 43-year-old Venezuelan's arrest or conviction.
"Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity," Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. "During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered, including the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls."
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The president said with Friday's action, the U.S. military "has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones."
"Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive," Trump wrote.
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"This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well," he continued. "As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong."
TdA, originally a prison gang in the Aragua state of Venezuela, has grown into a transnational criminal organization led by Flores, according to the State Department. The group has since been designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Authorities said Guerrero spent many years incarcerated at the Tocorón Prison in Aragua State of Venezuela and expanded the group's influence by extorting prison inmates and bribing prison guards.
The gang later assumed overall control of the Tocorón prison, gold mines in Bolivar State, drug corridors on the Caribbean coast and of some of the clandestine border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia.
