ALERT: “The child warrior”, leader of the famous Tren de Aragua gang, killed by an American strike
International Briefing:
The following report highlights an important international development currently attracting worldwide attention.
His nickname was Niño Guerrero, aka the “child warrior.” Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, leader of the notorious Tren de Aragua criminal organization, was killed during a joint operation with the United States in southern Venezuela, the two countries announced Friday. The information was made public by Donald Trump and then confirmed by the Venezuelan government. “Clashes took place with members of these criminal structures, during which Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores was neutralized,” indicated the Venezuelan Ministry of Communications. The attack on video “The Southern Command of the United States carried out a rapid and lethal strike to eliminate Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren de Aragua,” Donald Trump had earlier written on his Truth Social platform. “The Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have a refuge in Venezuela or anywhere else,” the American president also said, accompanying his publication with a ten-second video showing an aerial view of a building with a green roof surrounded by vegetation, before an explosion caused a thick cloud of smoke. A reward of 5 million dollars The Tren de Aragua, considered by the United States to be a terrorist organization, was formed in 2014 in the Venezuelan state of Aragua, located west of the capital Caracas. According to intelligence reports, it then spread to eight countries in South America.Niño Guerrero, who was 42 years old, was indicted in a court in New York in 2025 along with 69 other alleged members of the Tren de Aragua, for ordering, directing and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States. The US State Department was offering a $5 million reward for information leading to its capture.Zoo, swimming pool and nightclub in prisonThe organization is accused of human trafficking, assassinations, kidnappings, theft, drug trafficking, extortion and even illegal mining, while also controlling legal activities with a storefront. In September 2023, the Maduro government claimed to have “totally dismantled” the Tren de Aragua after the army took over the Tocorón prison, controlled by the gang. Under the leadership of Niño Guerrero, Tocorón had “become one of the most infamous prisons in the country”, according to an Insight Crime report. “This freedom and the gang’s criminal income allowed the construction of a zoo, a swimming pool, a playground, a restaurant and a nightclub inside the prison.”
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Source: This article was originally published by 20Minutes – Actu Monde and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.