SKIP TO CONTENT SKIP TO SITE INDEX SECTION NAVIGATION Search AMERICAS SUBSCRIBE FOR €0.50/WEEK LOG IN ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT A Tren de Aragua Leader Is Killed in a Joint Strike, U.S. and Venezuela Say A strike this week in Venezuela killed a gang leader known as Niño Guerrero who was wanted in the United States, officials in both countries said.
Listen · 4:00 min Share full article President Trump said the operation had been conducted in close consultation with the new Venezuelan government. Credit... Eric Lee for The New York Times By John Yoon June 13, 2026 See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Times on Google A joint strike by the United States and Venezuela killed a leader of the Tren de Aragua transnational gang, President Trump and officials in both countries said on Friday, dealing a blow to a syndicate the Trump administration has blamed for an influx of violent crime and illicit drugs.
The strike took place earlier this week alongside Venezuelan security forces, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said without providing a precise date. He said it targeted a compound housing Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, a founder of Tren de Aragua. A statement from Venezuela’s communications ministry said the operation took place in Venezuela, in the southeast of the state of Bolívar.
Both Mr. Hegseth and Venezuelan officials said that Mr. Guerrero Flores had been killed in the strike. Mr. Guerrero Flores, 43, was better known by the alias Niño Guerrero, meaning “warrior child.” He was wanted in the United States on federal charges of directing acts of terrorism, alongside other charges.
ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The Central Intelligence Agency, which has dedicated expanded resources to Latin America during President Trump’s second term, supplied the intelligence that led to the strike on Mr. Guerrero Flores, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the operation.
Mr. Trump said on Truth Social, his online platform, that the U.S. military’s Southern Command had conducted the strike at his direction as part of his pledge to dismantle foreign gangs. His administration designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization last year.
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news. A version of this article appears in print on June 14, 2026, Section A, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Joint Strike Kills Leader Of a Gang In Venezuela.
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