{"id":2980,"date":"2026-06-14T11:32:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2980"},"modified":"2026-06-14T11:32:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:32:36","slug":"us-strike-against-tren-de-aragua-leader-in-venezuela-exemplifies-trumps-approach-to-war-on-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=2980","title":{"rendered":"US strike against Tren de Aragua leader in Venezuela exemplifies Trump\u2019s approach to war on drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 The U.S. military attack in Venezuela Friday that killed the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang reflects a strategic shift by U.S. President Donald Trump toward direct U.S. involvement in the war on drugs that began earlier this year, with a special focus this time on gaining access to Venezuela\u2019s lucrative mining sector, analysts told The Associated Press. <\/p>\n

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Trump announced Friday the death of gang leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero in an airstrike on his compound in rural Venezuela. He has long accused Guerrero\u2019s organization, also known as TDA, of terrorizing communities across the United States, where it has been linked to extortion rackets, drug trafficking and illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

The group was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department last year, with federal prosecutors accusing Guerrero of shipping drugs to the U.S. and organizing acts of terror across borders, including the murder of a Venezuelan dissident in Chile.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s government said in a statement Friday that it worked with the U.S. to kill the gang leader, also known as El Ni\u00f1o Guerrero, and described the airstrike as part of a \u201cjoint operation\u201d to fight organized crime. <\/p>\n

Strike in a key mining area<\/h3>\n

Venezuela\u2019s government said the strike occurred in southeastern Bolivar state, an area where various criminal groups, including Colombian rebels, have been running illegal gold mines for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

Venezuelan authorities ramped up operations against illegal mining this week, with helicopters shooting at wildcat miners to try to get them to clear the area\u2019s open-pit mines.<\/p>\n

Bram Ebus, a consultant for the International Crisis Group who researches organized crime in the Amazon basin, said that the recent operations, including the attack on Guerrero\u2019s compound, could be part of a broader push to pave the way for foreign investment in Venezuela\u2019s mining sector, which has long been hampered by the presence of criminal groups.<\/p>\n

After the Trump administration arrested Venezuela\u2019s then-President Nicolas Maduro in January during a pre-dawn raid, Venezuela\u2019s interim government has passed laws that facilitate foreign investment in the oil and mining industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that Venezuela\u2019s minerals, including gold and critical minerals, are on the menu of Trump,\u201d Ebus said. \u201cThis operation cannot be seen apart from Washington\u2019s bigger push to access Venezuela\u2019s natural resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shifting US operations against foreign criminal groups in Latin America<\/h3>\n

The U.S. has long supported law enforcement agencies in Latin American countries, including Colombia and Mexico, with training, weapons and logistical support to fight drug cartels and organized crime.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInstead of aiding other militaries to carry out operations, they are now happy to carry out these attacks on their own,\u201d said Adam Isacson, national security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a foreign policy think tank based in Washington, referring to the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

The U.S. recently launched joint military operations with Ecuador\u2019s government against drug traffickers near the Colombian border, while Trump has repeatedly pressed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to allow the U.S. to conduct strikes against drug cartels in Mexico. The New York Times reported in May that Guatemala agreed to let the U.S. conduct strikes on its territory, which the Guatemalan president denied.<\/p>\n

Trump-aligned Latin American governments could allow direct U.S. strikes against criminal groups in their territory in the following months \u2014 if courts in those countries allow it, Isacson said. But this approach poses risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. personnel could be killed or hurt,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s also the risk that the U.S. could get its intelligence wrong and kill innocent citizens of other countries on their soil, or that U.S. personnel could be working hand in glove with militaries that are carrying out human rights abuses in the same operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impact of El Ni\u00f1o Guerrero\u2019s death on the drug trade<\/h3>\n

Isacson explained that while killing Tren de Aragua\u2019s kingpin serves as a victory for the Trump administration, there is no clarity on how the group\u2019s finances or its links to corrupt officials have been affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kingpin strategy has been questioned for decades now,\u201d Isacson said. \u201cU.S. prisons are full of cartel leaders, from \u2018El Chapo\u2019 Guzman to the leaders of the Cali Cartel, and the amount of drugs produced has only increased or stayed the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tren de Aragua is a minor player in the global cocaine industry involved in drug shipments leaving Venezuela, so analysts don\u2019t expect the killing to drastically change the flow of drugs to the U.S. TDA also takes a cut from illegal gold mining. <\/p>\n

Isacson said that outside of Venezuela, the group engages in less profitable crimes, such as extortion and human trafficking.<\/p>\n

Read more Why Trump and other G7 leaders meeting without China might be a mistake<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s Latin America coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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