US Kills Gang Leader
Trump Announces US Military Strike Killed Tren de Aragua Leader with Venezuela's Aid
President Donald Trump announced that a U.S. military strike killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, on June 12, 2026. AP News reported the news at 10:06 p.m. EDT. The strike was carried out with cooperation from Venezuela's interim government. Trump said the gang's terrorists "no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else."
Guerrero Flores, known as "Niño Guerrero," built Tren de Aragua from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational criminal empire of roughly 7,000 members. The U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million bounty for his capture. Trump designated the group a Foreign Terrorist Organization on his first day in office in January 2025.
U.S. Strike Hits Gang Leader in Venezuela's South
U.S. Southern Command carried out what officials called a "swift and lethal kinetic strike" in Las Claritas, a remote mining region in Venezuela's Bolivar State. The strike killed Guerrero on the evening of June 12. Trump announced the news on Truth Social hours later, saying the U.S. would "find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong," AP News reported.
Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez coordinated with U.S. forces for the strike. She took power in January 2026 after the Trump administration removed former President Nicolás Maduro from office. Her government has since shifted toward cooperation with Washington.
How Tren de Aragua Became a U.S. Military Target
Tren de Aragua started inside Tocorón Prison in Venezuela. Under Guerrero's leadership, the gang used the Venezuelan refugee crisis to spread into the U.S. It built strongholds in New York, Chicago, and Miami. The Trump administration accused former President Maduro of protecting the gang in exchange for a cut of their drug and mining profits.
In December 2025, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a racketeering and terrorism indictment against Guerrero and 30 other TdA members. The indictment described "countless acts of violence, extortion, and drug trafficking" across North America, South America, and Europe, according to WDRB.
A Military Campaign That Began in September 2025
The strike on Guerrero was not the first. The U.S. launched Operation Southern Spear on September 1, 2025. The Navy and Air Force struck drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Since then, at least 207 people have been killed in 63 U.S. military strikes on vessels and land facilities, KULR8 reported.
The administration justified the campaign under the theory of national self-defense. By labeling Tren de Aragua a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the White House treated gang members as enemy combatants — similar to how it handled Al-Qaeda or ISIS — rather than ordinary criminals subject to arrest.
Critics Call Strikes Illegal; Supporters Cite American Deaths
Not everyone supports the strikes. House Democrats and Senator Rand Paul called the operations "extrajudicial killings." Critics say using military force against criminal gangs lacks approval from Congress and breaks the War Powers Resolution. UN experts also condemned the campaign as a "grave violation of international law," AP News reported.
Supporters point to crimes committed by TdA on U.S. soil. Senator Tom Cotton argued the President was fulfilling his "constitutional duty to protect Americans." Security analysts warn, however, that Guerrero's death could trigger a violent power struggle within the gang. Regional TdA cells in Peru, Chile, and the U.S. may now act more independently and unpredictably.
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