Tren de Aragua gang leader charged with racketeering conspiracy and cocaine trafficking under Trump crackdown

Tren de Aragua

Tren de Aragua gang leader charged with racketeering conspiracy and cocaine trafficking under Trump crackdown

Hector Guerrero Flores faces possible life in prison as head of Tren de Aragua, designated foreign terrorist organization

Julia Bonavita Fox News

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December 18, 2025 2:23pm EST

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Federal authorities in New York have unsealed an indictment charging the leader of the transnational Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua with a slew of violent crimes as he remains at the helm of the notorious criminal organization.

Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores — who is also known as "Niño Guerrero," "El Cejón" and "El Innombrable" — is facing multiple federal charges, including participating in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, cocaine importation conspiracy, and using and carrying firearms, machine guns, and destructive devices in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York.

Guerrero Flores currently sits at the help of Tren De Aragua, a transnational gang that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization and remains at large.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Guerrero Flores alleging that for over a decade, the criminal mastermind directed gang members to commit countless violent crimes — including murders, extortions, kidnappings and sex trafficking — throughout the United States, South America and Central America.

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Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka "Niño Guerrero," is the notorious head of Tren de Aragua. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

"As alleged, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores has been the mastermind of Tren de Aragua’s evolution from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization that committed countless acts of violence, extortion, and drug trafficking all over North America, South America, and Europe," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "In the Southern District of New York, we have now charged over 30 members or associates of Tren de Aragua with federal crimes, and we are committed to bankrupting the cartels and transnational gangs who flood our streets with deadly drugs and pursue death, violence and corruption as a way of life."

Prosecutors allege Guerrero Flores looked to maintain territorial dominance within Venezuela, leading TdA to later establish a strong gang presence throughout other South American countries and later infiltrating countries such as Europe, Spain, Mexico and Brazil.

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Inmates being led into prison in El Salvador

In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations at CECOT prison on March 16, 2025, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The Trump administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations 'Tren De Aragua' and MS-13. (Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

TdA members allegedly entered the United States to build a presence in various parts of the country, including New York, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois and Colorado, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Federal authorities also allege that under Guerrero Flores’ leadership, TdA members worked alongside some of the world’s largest narcotics traffickers to import tons of cocaine into the United States using maritime drug distribution routes, while also selling firearms to large-scale traffickers operating out of Venezuela.

"Guerrero Flores both directed and personally facilitated the transportation of this cocaine by supplying teams of heavily armed individuals to protect and transport cocaine shipments for his trafficking partners and associates.," federal prosecutors said in a press release. "These individuals were armed with, among other automatic weapons, AK-47s, MP5s, and AR-15s, as well as grenades."

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Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025. (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Reuters)

The case against Guerrero Flores is part of the Trump administration’s "Operation Take Back America," which aims to expel cartels and transnational criminal organizations from the country, while also cracking down on illegal immigration to protect citizens from violent crime.

If captured and convicted, Guerrero Flores faces the possibility of life in prison.

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"Guerrero Flores operated Tren de Aragua like a multinational crime syndicate — laundering money through cryptocurrency, trafficking drugs by the ton, selling weapons of war, and orchestrating acts of terror across borders," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Louis A. D’Ambrosio in a statement.

"He ran this empire from prison, shielded by corruption, and in collaboration with a narco-state cartel intent on flooding the United States with cocaine. This case exemplifies today’s threat: criminal organizations that function like terrorists and terrorize like insurgents. DEA and our partners are dismantling them piece by piece — targeting their leadership, finances, weapons, and networks," he added.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.

Tren de Aragua gang leader charged with racketeering conspiracy and cocaine trafficking under Trump crackdown