Justice Department charges leader of Tren de Aragua with racketeering, terrorism charges

The Justice Department Thursday unsealed an indictment against the alleged leader of the Venezuelan drug cartel Tren de Aragua, which includes terrorism, firearms and racketeering charges.

The indictment charges 42-year-old Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as“Niño Guerrero,” with ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States and acting in concert with Cartel de Los Soles. 

“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,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said.  

“In the Southern District ... 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," he continued. "This is what New Yorkers want, and it is what they deserve.”

The indictment alleges that gang members would spread out into many different countries across Latin America, the United States and Europe. They would allegedly exercise their control by committing crimes and other acts of terrorism to assert control over their territory. They would also allegedly enrich themselves through extortions, kidnappings, robberies, murders, drug trafficking, prostitution, sex trafficking, and trafficking of guns, grenades, and ammunition. 

The gang would also work with some of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, including Cártel de los Soles.

Guerrero Flores allegedly served as the leader of the Tren de Aragua for over a decade and acted as the mastermind over the cartel's expansion across the Western Hemisphere. 

The man is charged with participating in a racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, which carries up to 15 years in prison, and using and carrying firearms, machineguns, and destructive devices in furtherance of drug trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison.

The State Department is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or the conviction of Guerrero Flores. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.