President Trump announced Friday, June 13, that a U.S. military strike had killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores – whom he called “the infamous leader” of the Tren de Aragua gang in Venezuela.
Trump made the announcement without specifying where in Venezuela the strike occurred, what type of military operation was used, or how the U.S. confirmed Guerrero Flores was dead. No additional details about the circumstances were immediately available.
Tren de Aragua originated in the Tocoron prison in Venezuela and has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The gang has drawn sustained attention from the Trump administration, which has cited its presence in the United States as justification for aggressive immigration enforcement – including deportation flights to third-country detention facilities.
Whether the killing of Guerrero Flores will disrupt the gang’s operations, or who might succeed him, wasn’t addressed in Trump’s statement.
Reported by NPR. Read the original report.
