US strike kills leader of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a U.S. military strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the leader of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua. The president stated that U.S. Southern Command carried out the operation at his direction, describing it as a "swift and lethal kinetic strike."

In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said the action was coordinated closely with authorities in Venezuela. He attached a declassified video that appeared to show the strike, depicting a building with a green roof being destroyed in an explosion. The president did not specify the exact location or time of the operation.

Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, was a top target of U.S. law enforcement. In December, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged him with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including supporting terrorist acts. Authorities accused him of transforming Tren de Aragua from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational criminal enterprise responsible for drug trafficking, extortion, and violence across multiple continents. The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $5 million...