The leader of Tron de Aragua, who was killed in an attack in the United States and Venezuela, was a high school dropout who lived a comfortable life behind bars as he turned a prison gang into one of Latin America’s most powerful and widespread criminal organizations.
Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias Nino Guerrero, or “Child Warrior,” died at the age of 42 in a raid announced by President Donald Trump on Friday and later confirmed by Venezuela.
Tren de Aragua was established in Venezuela in 2014 and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States. It is believed to be active in eight South American countries, including Colombia, Peru and Chile.
Guerrero was accused of drug trafficking, extortion and other crimes, and the United States offered a $5 million reward for his head.
Guerrero, who is from the city of Maracay, about 100 kilometers from Caracas, quickly became involved in criminal activity after dropping out of high school. By 2010, at the age of 26, he had been charged with robbery, murder and kidnapping.
He was imprisoned in Tocolon prison in the state of Aragua, from which the gang got its name, and escaped before being rearrested two years later and returned to Tocolon.
It was then, while working in Tocolon, that he began to establish the criminal organization now known as Trende Aragua, which he and other prisoners effectively controlled.
Luis Ezequiel, a lawyer and criminology professor at the Central University of Venezuela, called Guerrero a criminal mastermind.
He said Guerrero’s leadership was notable “not because of his ferocity, or his inhumanity in the commission of his crimes, but because he was a man with a criminal mind who succeeded in broadening Tron de Aragua’s tentacles and strengthening them.”
– Pools, zoos and nightclubs –
Guerrero established his base of operations in Tocolon prison and became known in his world as “pran,” a Spanish abbreviation that translates to “serious heavyweight and natural-born killer,” Ezequiel said.
He lived in a two-story house on the prison grounds, receiving visitors and enjoying amenities such as a swimming pool, baseball fields, restaurants and even a zoo, according to Ronna Risquez, author of “Tren de Aragua: The Gang That Revolutionized Organized Crime in Latin America.”
Guerrero was a boss inside and outside prison, possessing guns and cash. He has been accused of brutal killings in countries including Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Guerrero fled Tocolon in 2023 as the Venezuelan government moved to take back control of gang prisons and crack down on “villain” figures like Guerrero.
In 2025, Guerrero and 69 other alleged members of Tren de Aragua were indicted in the United States on charges of terrorism and other violent crimes in the United States.
Guerrero’s whereabouts were unknown until Friday, when Trump announced on social media that he died during the raid in the southeastern state of Bolivar.
Trump’s post included a 10-second video showing an overhead view of a building surrounded by greenery before the explosion erupted, with a plume of smoke billowing out. No one is visible in the video.
Ezequiel said Guerrero’s death is good news for the country where Tron de Aragua operates because its structure is one in which Guerrero cannot be replaced quickly and smoothly.
“This is a serious blow,” Ezequiel said.
lp/afc/ad/dw/acb
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
