US President Donald Trump stated the US army had carried out an operation to remove the chief of the prison group Torren de Aragua, which he described as “one of the bloodthirsty terrorist organizations on the planet”.
In a publish on Fact Social, President Trump stated U.S. Southern Command carried out a “swift and lethal kinetic assault” to remove gang chief and co-founder Hector Guerrero Flores, often known as Niño Guerrero.
Trump’s publish included a brief, unclassified video of a constructing with a inexperienced roof exploding.
U.S. Military Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the assault occurred earlier this week and focused the Torren de Aragua facility in Venezuela. It added that the U.S. army operated “in full cooperation with Venezuelan safety forces.”
The US Nationwide Counterterrorism Heart (NCTC) describes Torren de Aragua as a transnational gang community with roots in Venezuela’s Tocolon Jail.
In accordance with the NCTC, the gang has between 2,500 and 5,000 members and is concerned in kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and public violence.
It has been designated as a overseas terrorist group by america since February 2025.
Flores was indicted in federal courtroom in Manhattan in December on expenses of ordering, directing, and selling acts of terrorism and violence in america. The U.S. State Division had provided a reward of as much as $5 million for data resulting in Flores’ arrest.
In a press launch on the time, U.S. Legal professional Jay Clayton known as Flores the “mastermind” behind the gang’s development.
“Guerrero Flores operated Torren de Aragua like a transnational prison syndicate, laundering crypto cash, trafficking medicine by the ton, promoting weapons of battle, and orchestrating transnational acts of terrorism,” added DEA Particular Agent Louis D’Ambrosio.
