Rome, 13 June (LaPresse/AP) – US President Donald Trump has announced that a US military operation has struck and killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, identified as the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. According to Trump himself, it was a “rapid and lethal kinetic strike” carried out against a compound belonging to the group, with operational support also from Caracas. Guerrero Flores, known by the nom de guerre “Niño Guerrero”, was wanted in the United States and charged in a federal court in New York with racketeering and other offences, including support for terrorist activities. Nicolás Maduro stated that the operation took place in Bolívar state, in south-eastern Venezuela, confirming clashes with members of criminal groups and the death of the alleged leader. The Tren de Aragua group has been classified by US authorities as a terrorist organisation and is held responsible for incidents of extortion, drug trafficking and violence in various Latin American countries and in the United States. According to US officials, the operation forms part of a broader strategy to combat so-called ‘narco-terrorists’ in the region, which has already been the target of previous US military actions.
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