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President Donald Trump announced Friday that the alleged leader of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based gang that’s a key target of his immigration enforcement agenda, was killed by the U.S. military in cooperation with the Venezuelan government.
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“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to confirm Trump’s announcement on the death of Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero.
Tren de Aragua quickly became a target of Trump’s immigration enforcement after he returned to office in 2025, putting the gang at the center of his deportation agenda. The State Department designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.
Trump on Friday called the U.S. strike a fulfillment of his campaign pledge.
“During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered,” the president wrote Friday. “With this action, the United States Military has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones.”
Kyla Guilfoil is a breaking news reporter on the politics team for NBC News Digital.
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