Donald Trump announced the killing of Tren de Aragua cartel leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka 'Nino,' in a swift and lethal kinetic strike' by US Southern Command. 

The President has made protecting the border and taking down criminal gangs and cartels a priority in his second term and celebrated the killing of the leader of what he called 'one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth.' 

'Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive,' he wrote on Truth Social.

The President shared a video of the fiery strikes to his social media page.  

Trump also thanked Venezuela for coordinating the strike with US Southern Command. 

'As a result, 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 drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong,' Trump added.

The President slammed his predecessor Joe Biden for having 'opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity.' 

He cited examples of young people killed at the hands of illegal migrants, like 22-year-old Laken Riley, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungary 'and countless other beautiful souls.' 

'With this action, the United States Military has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones.'

Pete Hegseth added in a statement to social media that 'the operation underscores the shared US and Venezuelan commitment to take the fight to narco-terrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere.'

He added that the two countries 'will continue to work closely with security partners, like Venezuela — and counties in the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) partners — to take the fight to our enemies.'

Tren de Aragua has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization. Guerrero Flores was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade, authorities announced in December.

US Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that the gang is responsible for countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe. 

Trump nominated Clayton on Thursday to be director of national intelligence.

The State Department had offered rewards of up to $5million for information leading to Guerrero Flores' arrest.

The Pentagon had nothing to add beyond the Truth Social post from Trump.

Trump has taken a series of extraordinary actions against the gang, including a series of strikes on small boats his administration has accused of smuggling drugs to America. 

At least 207 people have been killed in boat strikes by the US military in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls 'narcoterrorists' in early September.

Trump and administration officials have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some US cities. 

The president spent months repeating the claim — contradicted by a declassified US intelligence assessment — that Tren de Aragua had operated under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's control. 

The US whisked Maduro out of Venezuela to face US drug charges in January.

Tren de Aragua originated more than a decade ago at an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua. 

The gang has expanded in recent years as millions of Venezuelans migrated to other Latin American countries or the US in search of better living conditions.

The size of the gang is unclear. Countries with large populations of Venezuelan migrants, including Peru and Colombia, have accused the group of being behind a spree of violence in the region. 

Still, unlike other criminal organizations from Colombia, Central America and Brazil, Tren de Aragua has no large-scale involvement in smuggling cocaine across international borders, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that tracks crime across Latin America.

In Venezuela, gang leaders have long been known to participate in various illegal activities, including gold mining.