US, Venezuela say Tren de Aragua leader killed in strike

The leader of the notorious Tren de Agua gang, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, has been killed in a US strike in Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said on Friday. Venezuela has confirmed the death of Guerrero Flores, saying he was killed during a "joint operation" with the US in the southeastern state of Bolivar.

• Rewards of up to $5 million (€4.32 million) had been offered by the US State Department for information that led to Guerrero Flores' arrest.
• Guerrero Flores himself had racketeering, drug and firearms charges filed against him New York in December.
• The Trump administration has also heavily targeted the gang, among other things with strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean on small boats it says are smuggling drugs to the US.

Watch next: In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that "Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong."