US, Venezuela say Tren de Aragua leader killed in strike

The leader of the notorious Tren de Agua gang, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, has been killed in a US strike in Venezuela , US President Donald Trump said on Friday.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Tren de Aragua of being behind much of the violence and drug dealing in many US cities.

Venezuela has confirmed the death of Guerrero Flores, saying he was killed during a "joint operation" with the US in the southeastern state of Bolivar.

Trump said the US had carried out a "swift and lethal kinetic" strike to kill Guerrero Flores, whom he called "the infamous leader” of the Tren de Aragua gang.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that "Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the strike was carried out earlier in the week on one of the gang's compounds in Venezuela.

Rewards of up to $5 million (€4.32 million) had been offered by the US State Department for information that led to Guerrero Flores' arrest.

Venezuela's Ministry of Communications has confirmed the death in a statement about the operation at the compound.