WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump introduced Friday that U.S. forces carried out a strike that killed Niño Guerrero, the chief of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the administration has designated a international terrorist group.
In a put up on Fact Social, Trump mentioned he directed the U.S. Southern Command to execute “a swift and deadly kinetic strike” in opposition to Guerrero, described as the top of “one of the vital bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth.”
“Earlier than I returned to workplace, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to hundreds of thousands of Unlawful Criminals, and allowed this international military to rape, maim, and homicide American Residents with complete impunity,” Trump wrote. “Throughout my Marketing campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Nation, and convey Justice to the households of these they slaughtered, together with the dear 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Riley, and numerous different stunning souls.”
Trump mentioned the motion delivered “retribution” for the victims and their households. He famous that early in his administration he designated Tren de Aragua as a Overseas Terrorist Group, deported 1000’s of criminals related to it and commenced a broader effort in opposition to cartels.
The operation was coordinated with the federal government of Venezuela, Trump mentioned, including that members of the gang “now not have secure haven in Venezuela or anyplace else.”
“We are going to discover these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and ship them to the depths of hell the place they belong,” he wrote.
Secretary of Struggle Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike in a press release on X, saying it was performed earlier this week by the Division of Struggle in full collaboration with Venezuelan safety forces on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.
“TdA founder & chief Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka ‘Niño Guerrero,’ was confirmed killed through the strike,” Hegseth wrote. “The operation underscores the shared U.S. and Venezuelan dedication to take the battle to narco-terrorists and deny them any secure haven in our hemisphere. We are going to proceed to work intently with safety companions, like Venezuela — and international locations within the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) companions — to take the battle to our enemies.”
U.S. Southern Command Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan additionally prolonged gratitude to Venezuela safety forces for his or her help.
“We prolong our gratitude to the Venezuelan safety forces for his or her help to the profitable joint operation in opposition to a Tren de Aragua compound that resulted within the dying of the narco-terrorist group’s chief Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero.’ Guerrero was a wished fugitive charged by the U.S. Division of Justice with ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the USA.”
Trump has made border safety and the elimination of prison unlawful aliens a central focus of his second time period, promising aggressive army and regulation enforcement motion in opposition to gangs and cartels.
