US President Donald Trump announced that the leader of the Venezuelan drug cartel, Tren de Aragua, was killed as a result of a special operation carried out by the US military.
“At my direction, United States Southern Command launched a swift and lethal strike to execute Nino Guerrero, the notorious leader of the Trend de Aragua, one of the deadliest terrorist organizations on the planet,” Trump wrote on his account on the Truth social site.
The US President said that the killing of Nino Guerrero (full name Hector Rostenford Guerrero Flores) was coordinated with the Venezuelan authorities. Venezuela confirms the joint operation He writes BBC News.
Trump indicated that the war against drug cartels was one of the main points of his electoral program, and in fulfillment of his promises, at the beginning of his second term, he added Trend de Aragua to the list of terrorist organizations.
Trend de Aragua, founded in 2009, is the largest criminal group in Venezuela. He specializes in murder, extortion, drug and human trafficking, money laundering, forced prostitution and kidnapping. It includes more than seven thousand members.
Cooperation with Trend de Aragua is one of the accusations brought by the United States against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In January 2026, US special forces arrested Maduro and his wife in Venezuela and transferred them to the United States.