Venezuela says it took part in Tren de Aragua operation
Venezuela’s government has now confirmed that it participated in the operation in which Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, died, according to the Associated Press. That shifts the story from a unilateral U.S. strike claim by President Donald Trump to an operation that both Washington and Caracas are publicly linking to Venezuelan involvement. AP reports that Venezuela placed the operation in Bolívar state and said clashes with criminal groups occurred before Guerrero Flores was killed. The Guardian separately reports that Venezuela’s communications ministry described the action as a joint operation, while Sky News still carried an earlier line saying Venezuelan authorities had not commented. The confirmation matters because it adds a diplomatic and operational dimension to a strike already tied to U.S. terrorism, sanctions and organised-crime claims against Tren de Aragua.
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About this story
Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, was identified by U.S. authorities as a leader of Tren de Aragua and was charged in a New York federal case announced in December, according to AP. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan-origin criminal group that began in Aragua state and expanded across parts of the Americas as Venezuelan migration increased, according to AP and Americas Quarterly. Bolívar state is a mineral-rich region in south-eastern Venezuela bordering Brazil and Guyana, where AP says illegal mining has long involved armed groups and other actors. U.S. Southern Command is the U.S. military command responsible for operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Venezuela’s communications ministry is the state body that issued the statement cited by AP and The Guardian.
How to read this story
The history
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organisation on July 11, 2024, alleging activity including human smuggling, trafficking, money laundering, illegal mining and drug trafficking. Americas Quarterly argued in December 2024 that the group’s U.S. threat had often been overstated in political debate. AP reports that Trump’s administration had previously linked Tren de Aragua to violence and drugs in U.S. cities, while noting that a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment contradicted the claim that the group operated under Nicolás Maduro’s control.
Regional impact
The story sits mainly at the international and EU-policy level rather than inside Belgium. U.S. officials are framing the operation as part of a hemispheric campaign against groups they call narcoterrorists, while Venezuela is now saying it participated in the operation on its territory. EU institutions and Belgian foreign-policy officials will read the development through sanctions, international-law and migration-security lenses, but no direct Belgian operational involvement has been reported by the cited sources.
International angle
The development connects Washington and Caracas in an unusually direct security episode, with Venezuela now saying it participated in an operation that Trump presented as a U.S. military strike. The location in Bolívar also gives the story a cross-border dimension because the state borders Brazil and Guyana and is linked in AP reporting to illegal mining networks.
Opposing perspectives
- Trump administration / U.S. security officials
AP and Sky News report that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed the operation as a cross-border security action against a group the U.S. labels terrorist. Their strongest argument is that coordinated action with Venezuela denies sanctuary to a criminal network accused by U.S. authorities of violence, extortion, trafficking and drug crimes.
- Researchers and cautionary analysts
Americas Quarterly argues that Tren de Aragua’s reach in the United States has often been exaggerated, while AP notes that prior U.S. intelligence contradicted claims of Maduro-directed control. This frame treats the operation as significant but warns against using the group as an all-purpose explanation for migration, urban crime or regional instability.
- Venezuelan government
According to AP and The Guardian, Venezuela’s statement places the death inside clashes with criminal groups during an operation on Venezuelan territory. The strongest version of that position is that Caracas is presenting itself as an active participant against armed criminal structures, not merely the target or bystander of U.S. force.
How this story developed
3 reports on this subject — earliest first. You are reading the highlighted entry.
- U.S. forces kill Tren de Aragua leader in Venezuela strike
- U.S. court case and $5 million reward preceded strike on Tren de Aragua leader
- Venezuela says it took part in Tren de Aragua operation· You are here
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