US says death of Tren de Aragua chief 'sends clear message to Latin America'

Trump says the US attacked the leader of the criminal group Tren de Aragua
A Pentagon official said this Saturday (13) that the death of Niño Guerrero, leader of the criminal organization of Venezuelan origin Tren de Aragua, "sends a clear message to Latin America" about the commitment of President Donald Trump's government to combat drug trafficking.
➡Guerrero was killed in an American military operation in coordination with the Venezuelan authorities announced Washington and Caracas on Friday night (12). The criminal leader was neutralized during clashes with members of armed groups.
"The death of Niño Guerrero sends a clear message to Latin America: there is no refuge for narco-terrorists in our hemisphere. The Department of War and the Anti-Cartel Coalition of the Americas (A3C) will continue to fulfill President Trump's promise," said this Saturday on "fast and lethal" against the head of Tren de Aragua. The American president also posted a 10-second video showing an aerial view of a building during an explosion (see at the beginning of the report).
What is Tren de Aragua?
Founded in Venezuela, Tren de Aragua was designated a terrorist organization by the United States. The group also operates in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil - investigations indicate that the organization was established especially in Roraima, in the border region with Venezuela.
According to Brazilian authorities and researchers, the faction commits the following crimes:
drug and weapons trafficking;
sexual exploitation;
illegal transport of migrants;
extortion;
and activities linked to illegal mining.
In the United States, Trump and members of his government frequently associate the Tren de Aragua with the increase in violence and drug trafficking. Over the last year, the president has intensified actions against the group, including operations against vessels suspected of participating in drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Who was Guerrero?
Notice released by the Venezuelan government offering a reward for information about Héctor Guerrero
ACCOUNT FROM THE MINISTRY OF PEOPLE POWER FOR INTERNAL RELATIONS IN VENEZUELA
Born in 1983 in Maracay, capital of the state of Aragua, Guerrero began his "career" in crime in the early 2000s with petty crimes and robberies. In 2005, he attacked a police station and killed corporal Oswaldo González.
He was arrested in 2010 for drug trafficking, murder and robbery, and was sent to Tocorón prison. Guerrero escaped from prison in 2012, becoming one of the most wanted criminals in Venezuela, until he was recaptured in 2013 and returned to the same unit.
In February 2018, he was formally sentenced to 17 years in prison for crimes such as homicide, drug trafficking, identity theft and concealment of weapons of war, but he did not serve the entire sentence.
Prison command with hotel luxuries
Right behind the bars, Niño Guerrero continued to head the Tren de Aragua. He boosted the expansion of the faction to make it one of the largest criminal organizations in Latin America, taking advantage of the migratory flow generated by the Venezuelan economic crisis.
During the years in which he was in control of the Aragua Penitentiary Center (Tocorón prison), the place gained an infrastructure built under his command that was comparable to that of a luxury hotel.
The structure had:
swimming pool, nightclub and casino;
playground and baseball stadium;
bars, liquor stores and restaurants with terraces;
ATMs;
pig and chicken farms;
a zoo that exhibited animals such as jaguars, pumas and ostriches.
In 2023, the Venezuelan authorities carried out a mega military operation to try to regain control of the prison. During the action, war arsenals (including grenades, rocket launchers and explosives) were found, as well as secret tunnels to the outside. Guerrero managed to escape at the time.
At the time, journalist and researcher Ronna Rísquez, author of a book about the faction, warned that the intervention in the prison did not mean the dismantling of the organization.
Processes in the USA and political connections
In December 2025, the Donald Trump government formally charged Guerrero in a federal court in Manhattan with crimes such as racketeering conspiracy, terrorism, drug importation and weapons-related crimes of fire.
The US Department of Justice was offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to his capture. Furthermore, the leader of Tren de Aragua is listed as a defendant in the same federal case in New York that involves Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The case also brings as defendants Maduro's wife (Cilia Flores), the Venezuelan Interior Minister (Diosdado Cabello) and one of the Venezuelan ruler's sons

Source: G1