U.S. forces killed the leader of the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua in an airstrike, President Donald Trump said Friday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had directed U.S. Southern Command to carry out what he described as a “swift and lethal” strike that killed Niño Guerrero, the alleged head of Tren de Aragua, which he called one of the world’s most violent terrorist organizations.
Trump’s post also featured a dramatic video showing a projectile striking a building in what appeared to be a remote area, triggering a large fireball and explosion.
The president characterized the operation as “retribution” for violent crimes he blamed on Tren de Aragua. He described the group as a “foreign army” and accused the Biden administration of allowing it to “rape, maim, and murder American citizens with total impunity.”
Trump also pointed to actions taken earlier in his administration, saying he had followed through on a pledge to designate Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, deport thousands of criminals, and intensify the fight against cartels.
He added that the strike was carried out in close coordination with Venezuelan officials, saying the United States was “working very well” with the country’s government.
âAs 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,â Trump concluded.
The Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization last February.
In December, an indictment against Guerrero, 42, was unsealed in the Southern District of New York, accusing him participating in a racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; cocaine importation conspiracy; and using and carrying firearms, machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of drug trafficking.
âAs alleged, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores has been the mastermind of Tren de Araguaâs evolution from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization that committed countless acts of violence, extortion, and drug trafficking all over North America, South America, and Europe,â US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement at the time.
The State Department had offered up to $5 million for information leading to Guerreroâs capture and conviction.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on X that strike took place âearlier this weekâ in âfull collaboration with Venezuelan security forces.â
Hegseth said the building struck was a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.
Since last September, the Trump administration has aggressively targeted alleged Tren de Aragua gang members â striking dozens of alleged drug smuggling boats in Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing more than 200 suspected narcoterrorists.
