Breaking: Trump says US has killed leader of Venezuelan drug cartel in air strike

Sat 13 Jun 2026 at 11:25am

Sat 13 Jun 2026 at 11:25am

Donald Trump says the US has killed the leader of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, Niño Guerrero, in a "kinetic strike".

"At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero," the US president said.

Trump did not specify when the strike took place, and no Venezuelan official has confirmed the strike.

Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores is better known by his alias, Niño Guerrero, and is known by the US as a Venezuelan drug trafficker and leader of Tren de Aragua.

In January 2026, Guerrero was named as a co-defendant in the indictment of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

"Early in my administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the cartels," Mr Trump continued in his post on Truth Social.

"This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.

"Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else … we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong."

Terrorist organisation

Mr 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.

Tren de Aragua has been labelled by the US as a terrorist organisation.

The US government also alleges that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro had direct operational ties to Tren de Aragua.

Guerrero was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade, authorities announced in December.

US 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.

The US State Department had offered rewards of up to $US 5 million ($7.1 million) for information leading to Guerrero Flores' arrest.