Trump Announces Death of “Most Wanted Criminal” as Venezuela Confirms Joint Operation

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Venezuela confirmed in the early hours of Saturday the death of Héctor Rutherford Guerrero Flores, known as “El Niño Guerrero,” the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization.

The announcement followed a joint operation carried out by the United States on Venezuelan territory in coordination with Caracas, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the “success of the operation.”

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In a statement, Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication said that the joint operation targeted organized crime infrastructure in the south of the country. It explained that “during the operation, clashes occurred with members of criminal groups, resulting in the death of Héctor Rutherford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of one of these criminal organizations.”

According to the Associated Press, the operation took place in a mineral-rich state bordering Brazil and Guyana, an area known for illegal mining activities that have long been controlled by criminal groups and other actors engaged in unlawful mineral extraction.

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Operation Details

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Donald Trump announced that “the United States Southern Command, acting under my direction, carried out a swift and decisive military strike that successfully eliminated Niño Guerrero, the notorious leader of Tren de Aragua, one of the deadliest terrorist organizations on Earth.”

Trump criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, claiming that his policies opened the southern border of the United States to “millions of illegal criminals,” enabling gang members to commit crimes inside the country.

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He added that the military operation fulfilled his campaign promises to pursue gang members, deport criminals, and designate Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. He emphasized that the U.S. military had “delivered justice” for victims of crimes his administration attributes to the gang.

Trump also stated that the operation had been closely coordinated with Venezuelan authorities, noting that Washington was cooperating with Caracas “very effectively.”

The U.S. president concluded by saying that Tren de Aragua members now have “no safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else,” pledging to continue pursuing gang members and drug traffickers wherever they may be.

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An Ongoing Campaign

Guerrero’s death comes as part of a broader campaign led by the Trump administration against Tren de Aragua, which Washington has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Over recent months, the U.S. administration has carried out a series of actions against the group, including strikes targeting small vessels accused of smuggling drugs into the United States.

At least 207 people have been killed in U.S. military strikes against boats operating in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea since operations began against those the administration describes as “narco-terrorists” in early September of last year.

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Trump and several members of his administration have blamed Tren de Aragua for a significant share of the violence and illicit drug trafficking affecting certain American cities.

The U.S. president has repeatedly alleged that the gang operated under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, despite declassified U.S. intelligence assessments that contradict those claims.

The United States transferred Maduro from Venezuela in January to face American charges related to drug trafficking.

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A $5 Million Reward

The U.S. Department of State had offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to Guerrero’s arrest.

In 2025, a New York court indicted Héctor Rutherford Guerrero Flores, aged 42, along with 69 other alleged members of Tren de Aragua, for ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States.

Who Was Guerrero?

Guerrero Flores was regarded as the mastermind behind the transformation of Tren de Aragua from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization.

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Both U.S. and Venezuelan authorities accuse the organization of human trafficking, murder, kidnapping, robbery, drug trafficking, extortion, and even illegal mining operations.

The group is also accused of extending its influence into a number of legitimate commercial activities that operate openly and maintain an official presence in the marketplace.

In September 2023, Maduro’s government claimed it had “completely dismantled” Tren de Aragua after the military regained control of Tocorón Prison, which had been dominated by the gang.

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An “Empire” Inside Tocorón Prison

According to a 2025 report by the crime-analysis center Insight Crime, “Niño Guerrero” played a pivotal role in shaping the gang into what it became during his imprisonment at Tocorón.

The report states that under Guerrero’s leadership, Tocorón Prison became one of the facilities most closely associated with crime and disorder in the country.

It further noted that “the freedom enjoyed by the gang and its criminal profits enabled the establishment of a zoo, swimming pool, sports field, restaurant, and nightclub inside the prison.”

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Continuing U.S.–Venezuelan Cooperation

This joint operation represents the latest example of improving relations between Washington and Caracas since Maduro’s arrest.

In March, the two countries resumed diplomatic relations that had been severed in 2019, and the United States is currently working to reopen its embassy in Caracas.

At the same time, Trump has gradually eased sanctions on Venezuela, which has adopted new legislation governing hydrocarbons and the mining sector, opening these industries to private investment in a country that possesses the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

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