It was a busy Friday, from talk of a deal with Iran to the U.S.-Paraguay game to a bomb taking out “El Niño,” or the head of Tren de Aragua. I guess the word is out that we will go into countries and take heads of groups.
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Here is the report:
The US military has killed the leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in an airstrike, President Donald Trump has announced.
“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero,” Trump wrote on social media.
Niño Guerrero, whose full name is Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, was the longtime leader of Tren de Aragua. The gang is one of the most notorious criminal groups in Latin America and has been a target of the Trump administration.
The president has accused the group of engaging in “irregular warfare” against the US and declared it a foreign terrorist organisation.
Trump posted footage of what appears to be the airstrike, showing a green building with a nearby shed being blown up, debris flying into the air. Trump said the military action was “coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well”.
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Venezuelan authorities confirmed their involvement in what they described as a “joint operation”.
A joint operation? Wow — the times, they are a-changing, as Dylan would say. Who would have believed this six months ago? Maduro in a cell in New York, and the head of “El Tren” turned into dust.
Beyond Venezuela, this action will shock any narco-leader in the area. From Mexico to wherever, the Trump administration is quite clear that we intend to use our amazing technology to find you and kill you.
As more Latin American countries turn right, such as the latest election in Peru, the new leaders will find fighting narco-terrorism a little easier. They can now count on the U.S. to eliminate these “heads” terrorizing their populations. We will probably see more “joint operations” down the road.
What happens in Mexico? The message is clear: Work with us, or we will have to do it without you.
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Image via Pxhere.