The United States military has killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, in a co-ordinated military operation conducted with Venezuelan forces in the south-eastern state of Bolívar, President Donald Trump announced on June 12.

Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, said the operation was carried out under his direct orders by the US Southern Command. "Under my direction, the United States Southern Command launched a vigorous, swift, and lethal strike to successfully execute 'Niño Guerrero,' the infamous leader of the Tren de Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty terrorist organizations on planet Earth," he wrote, using Guerrero Flores's alias.

Venezuela's Ministry of Communication and Information confirmed the operation and the death of Guerrero Flores in a separate statement, saying it had been conducted with "specialised technological support" and through bilateral intelligence-sharing mechanisms. "During the operation, clashes occurred with members of criminal groups, resulting in the death of Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores," it said.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation had taken place earlier in the week. "The operation underscores the shared US and Venezuelan commitment to take the fight to narco-terrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere," he posted on X.

Guerrero Flores, 42, had been a fugitive since 2023, when Venezuelan authorities dismantled Tren de Aragua's base of operations at the Tocorón prison in Aragua state. A New York federal court had indicted him on racketeering and related charges in December. The Treasury Department had also sanctioned him and five other gang members in 2025, and the US State Department had offered rewards of up to $5mn for information leading to his arrest.

Tren de Aragua was designated a terrorist organisation by Washington and has been linked to widespread violence, extortion and narcotics distribution across several continents. US Attorney Jay Clayton, whom Trump nominated on June 11 to serve as director of national intelligence, said the gang was responsible for "countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe."

The gang originated more than a decade ago inside a prison in Aragua state that had become a byword for disorder. After his return there in 2013, Guerrero Flores and fellow inmates exploited the government's neglect of the penal system to take over the facility, eventually converting it into an elaborate criminal fiefdom with its own amenities, including restaurants, a casino and a zoo.

The operation took place in Bolívar state, a mineral-rich region bordering Brazil and Guyana that is home to large-scale illegal gold mining and has long been contested by armed groups. Venezuelan authorities described Bolívar as a corridor for criminal networks. Local monitoring organisation SOS Orinoco had reported earlier this week that the military had launched a separate helicopter-supported offensive in the Sifontes mining district, targeting armed groups controlling strategic extraction zones.

Trump said the two countries were collaborating effectively. "As a result, the Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else," he wrote, adding that his administration would pursue criminal organisations "anytime, anyplace."

The strike is the latest in a series of military actions taken by the Trump administration against what it terms "narcoterrorists." The administration has conducted a sustained campaign of strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, with over 200 people killed in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean since September 2025.

The killing of Guerrero Flores marks a milestone in what has emerged as an increasingly co-operative security relationship between Washington and Caracas since Nicolás Maduro's removal in January and the assumption of power by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. Breaking with two decades of socialist economic orthodoxy, Rodríguez has since overseen the opening of Venezuela's oil and mineral wealth to US investors, earning repeated praise from President Trump.

Unlike major trafficking networks based in Colombia or Central America, Tren de Aragua has not built a significant cross-border cocaine operation, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that tracks organised crime across Latin America, AP reported. Its reach has grown largely in step with Venezuela's mass emigration over the past decade.