US strike kills 'infamous' Tren de Aragua gang leader, Trump says
U.S. military killed leader of Tren de Aragua, Trump says
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Friday, saying the U.S. military carried out an airstrike that killed Tren de Aragua leader Niño Guerrero.
A U.S. military strike has killed "the infamous leader" of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, President Donald Trump said Friday night.
He announced the "swift and lethal kinetic" strike on his Truth Social account. Here’s the latest:
Who did the strike kill?
What we know:
Trump said the strike killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, leader of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. He said the lethal strike "was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well."
Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (US State Department/ICE)
Guerrero Flores was charged in a New York federal court in December with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that the gang is responsible for countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe.
What we don't know:
Trump didn’t say when the strike took place.
What they're saying:
"At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth," Trump shared on social media.
"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 drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong."
Still shot from strike video released by President Trump
What is Tren de Aragua?
The backstory:
Tren de Aragua, known as TdA, originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone last decade.
Tren de Aragua is Spanish for "the train of Aragua." The group may have gotten its name from a union of railroad workers, NPR reported. It has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization.
READ MORE: What is Tren de Aragua?
Trump has taken a series of extraordinary actions against the gang, including a series of strikes on small boats his administration has accused of smuggling drugs to America.
The U.S. State Department had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores’ arrest.
Trump and administration officials have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some U.S. cities.
The Source: This article includes information from President Trump’s Truth Social account, The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.