U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a June 12 Truth Social post that the United States Southern Command had conducted a kinetic strike against members of the Venezuelan transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua, killing the group's leader, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero, also called Nino Guerrero. The Venezuelan government later issued a statement that the strike was a "joint operation between Venezuelan and United States security agencies in the southeastern Bolivar state," though neither government statement indicated when the strike occurred.

Guerrero was one of the most wanted fugitives in the Western Hemisphere for his role in growing Tren de Aragua from a minor prison gang to a transnational organization; the United States specifically charged him with directing terrorism. The Trump administration has long labeled the group a significant national security threat to the United States and designated it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group in February 2025. The United States has repeatedly alleged that it was striking members of Tren de Aragua when it conducted operations against alleged maritime traffickers in the Caribbean Sea.