The leader of the Tren de Aragua killed in the US-Venezuelan invasion was a school dropout who lived comfortably in prison while transforming a prison gang into one of the most powerful and largest criminal organizations in Latin America.
Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka Nino Guerrero, or “children’s hero”, died at the age of 42 in the raid announced on Friday by President Donald Trump and later confirmed by Venezuela.
Tren de Aragua, founded in Venezuela in 2014, has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and is believed to be active in eight South American countries, including Colombia, Peru and Chile.
It is accused of drug trafficking, extortion and other crimes, and Guerrero had a bounty of US $ 5 million on his head.
Guerrero came from the city of Maracay, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Caracas and after dropping out of high school he quickly became involved in crime. By 2010, at the age of 26, he was already accused of robbery, murder and kidnapping.
He was imprisoned in a prison called Tocoron in the state of Aragua – hence the gang’s name – escaped, and was recaptured two years later and sent back to Tocoron.
