US strike kills Venezuelan Tren de Aragua leader Nino Guerrero

A senior Venezuelan cartel figure linked by Washington to a designated terrorist organisation has been killed in a United States military strike, according to US officials.

The Justice Department identified the dead man as Hector Rustenford Guerrero Flores, widely known as Nino Guerrero. A video said to show the strike was posted on social media by US President Donald Trump.

Officials said Guerrero was associated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang they say he helped expand into a transnational terror organisation. The transcript described the operation as one carried out by the United States in connection with Venezuela.

The killing comes after months of US military action aimed at Tren de Aragua. Those operations have included deadly strikes on alleged drug boats, with more than 200 people killed. US authorities, however, have not publicly produced evidence showing drugs were aboard those vessels.

The Justice Department had accused Guerrero of directing and helping facilitate acts of terrorism inside the United States.