President Donald Trump announced that under his order, US Southern Command conducted a "rapid and lethal kinetic strike" that successfully executed Tren de Aragua leader Nini Guerrero in Venezuela. The operation, targeting one of Latin America's deadliest organized crime groups, was confirmed in a presidential statement released this morning.
President Donald Trump officially confirmed the strike in a formal morning statement, describing the operation as a "rapid and lethal kinetic strike" personally ordered by him against Tren de Aragua leader Héctor Rusthenford "Niño" Guerrero Flores. The statement, released this morning, reiterates the White House position and Trump's direct role in authorizing the operation.
The confirmation follows a sequence of reports across the night. At 04:09 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Trump's initial announcement of the strike, with multiple subsequent versions refining the details. By 06:25 and 06:30 Jerusalem, US Southern Command commander General Francis L. Donovon publicly thanked the Bolivarian National Armed Forces for their role, describing the operation as a "joint operation." At 07:51 Jerusalem, Trump released footage of the strike on social media. The thread reflects evolving corroboration — from Trump's first confirmation to an on-record acknowledgment of Venezuelan military involvement by SOUTHCOM's commander, and then visual documentation by the President.
As The Zioneer reported at 04:29 Jerusalem, Trump had earlier confirmed the elimination of Guerrero in a coordinated operation with Caracas. At 04:30 Jerusalem, The Zioneer noted that Guerrero was the high-profile leader of the Venezuela-origin criminal-terror network. The context frames the operation as a US-Venezuela joint effort targeting one of Latin America's most violent transnational crime groups.
No additional operational details, casualty figures, or information about the exact location and timing of the strike beyond the killing of Guerrero have been released. The formal statement does not address the status of other Tren de Aragua leaders or members.
7 developments
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Source and signal
- Internal intake