1st escape: 28 August 2012[1] 2nd escape: September 2023
Details
Span of crimes
2000–2026
Killed
1+
Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (2 December 1983 – 12 June 2026), better known by the alias Niño Guerrero, was a Venezuelan drug trafficker and leader of Tren de Aragua.[2] In January 2026, Guerrero was named as a co-defendant in the indictment of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Early life and crimes
Flores was born in 1983 in Maracay, Aragua. In 2000, the first incursions of Guerrero into illicit activities were recorded.[3] In 2005, Guerrero attacked a police station, killing Corporal Oswaldo González. In 2010, he was caught while dealing in stolen goods and drugs in Maracay. He was interned in the Aragua Penitentiary Center, from which he would escape in 2012. In 2013 he was recaptured in Barquisimeto.[4]
In 2015, he was captured with actress Jimena Araya [es] in the San Vicente neighborhood of Maracay. Guerrero reportedly offered to rescue young people from drugs, bring peace, beautify the neighborhood and not allow the police to be present.[5]
2018 prison sentence
In February 2018, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the crimes of homicide, drug trafficking, identity theft and concealment of weapons of war, among other charges.[6] Guerrero led the operations of the Tren de Aragua from prison, promoting its expansion, taking advantage of the migratory exodus due to the economic crisis.[7]
In September 2023, the Aragua Penitentiary Center was evacuated in the Cacique Guaicaipuro Liberation Operation that sought to retake control of the prison with 11,000 officials of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and police officers, a major of the Bolivarian National Guard died during the operation.[8] It was reported that Guerrero escaped from the Aragua Penitentiary Center through a tunnel. According to the NGO Observador Venezolano to AFP, days before the event, Guerrero negotiated the intervention in the Tocorón prison with the Venezuelan government and, benefiting from the complicity of the security forces, escaped before the operation began, a claim that was denied by the Venezuelan government.[9] However, between 400 and 500 inmates escaped with Guerrero from the Tocorón Penitentiary. The Venezuelan government confirmed the escape three days later. According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, the prison had a capacity for 750 inmates, but it housed more than 5,000. Authorities said there were about 1,600 prisoners at the time of the intervention. Inside the prison they found 14 long and two short weapons, 120 7.62×51 link belts, 40 anti-tank grenades, 80 kilos of C4 composition, 80 full devices, 400,000 ammunition of different calibers, 15 self-propelled rockets and other war materials.[10]
The prison complex controlled by the Tren de Aragua caught the attention of the international media as it had a swimming pool, discotheque, bars, restaurants, playground, pig and chicken farms, a baseball stadium and a zoo, which were built during the years of Guerrero's leadership.[11] Tunnels to enter and exit freely were also discovered, which Guerrero used to escape from the prison. After the intervention, a network of tunnels about 5 km long was found, which flowed into Lake Valencia, where rudimentary boats were found. The cavities had ventilation, lighting and concrete frames.[12]
Peruvian and Chilean arrest warrants
Peru's Interior Ministry issued a statement announcing that it was offering a reward of 500,000 soles (US$132,400) in exchange for information leading to Guerrero's whereabouts. Authorities included Guerrero Flores in Peru's Rewards Program. The statement added that Minister Vicente Romero made the announcement following a decision by a rewards commission on a report by Peru's National Police indicating that Niño Guerrero may have entered Peruvian territory in a hidden manner. [13]
A week after the Venezuelan government's intervention in the Tocorón prison, on 21 September, Chile's national prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for Guerrero. The order, issued by the Public Ministry of Tarapacá, would allow the Chilean State to circulate an extradition request through its Foreign Ministry in case Guerrero is captured in another country, being tried in local courts.[14]
In January 2026, Niño Guerrero was named as one of six codefendants in a grand jury federal indictment, together with Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Maduro's wife and son, and two Venezuelan politicians. The statutory allegations against Guerrero included conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and import controlled substances, namely cocaine; manufacturing, distribution and importing said substances; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and use of firearms in furtherance of crime.[15]
Death
On 12 June 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Guerrero was killed in a "swift and lethal kinetic strike" conducted by the US Southern Command in coordination with the Venezuelan government, describing him as a "terrorist".[16][17]
