Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño” Guerrero,” is the main leader of Tren de Aragua, the most important criminal group in Venezuela. The organization’s expansion and transnational reach in different Latin American countries has positioned Niño Guerrero as one of the most renowned prison leaders, also known as pranes, in the region.
Since the Venezuelan government intervention in the Tocorón prison, the former criminal stronghold of Tren de Aragua, Niño Guerrero’s whereabouts are unknown.
Despite losing his center of operations in Venezuela, Niño Guerrero is at large and continues to direct Tren de Aragua’s operations. Thanks to the group’s transnational presence, his criminal reputation has grown significantly. With an Interpol red notice and the US State Department offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest in July 2024, he has become one of the most wanted criminals in South America.
History
Niño Guerrero was born on December 2, 1983, in Maracay, Aragua state, a municipality just over a hundred kilometers from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Around the year 2000, Guerrero entered the local criminal scene, attacking police officers and getting involved in micro-trafficking businesses.
According to Venezuelan Supreme Court records from September 3, 2005, Niño Guerrero killed an Aragua police officer, which put him on the radar of the authorities. By that time, Tren de Aragua already had a criminal reputation for kidnapping and extorting businessmen and bribing public officials.
In 2010, authorities captured Niño Guerrero while he was dealing stolen goods and trafficking drugs in his native Maracay. By this point, Guerrero has three murder charges to his name. As a result, he was imprisoned in the Aragua penitentiary, also known as Tocorón, until 2012, when he escaped.
In June 2013, Niño Guerrero was recaptured in Barquisimeto, Lara state, where for months he had been robbing homes. From here, his criminal career began rising.
Despite being imprisoned, Niño Guerrero appeared in 2015 at a party in one of the many neighborhoods of Maracay under Tren de Aragua’s control. At the party, he introduced himself as the group’s leader and promised that he would improve living conditions for local residents.
A year later, Niño Guerrero appeared in court in Maracay, where he was charged with several murders, multiple residential robberies, carrying weapons, drug trafficking, and the escape from Tocorón. In February 2018, Guerrero accepted the crimes he was charged with and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
But this conviction did not diminish the power of Niño Guerrero or Tren de Aragua. The prison-based organization continued its expansion within Venezuela, and by 2020, the group was estimated to have around 1,000 members answering to Niño Guerrero’s orders.
From inside Tocorón, Niño Guerrero built a center of operations filled with luxurious accommodations. For starters, he lived in a two-story house inside the prison, where he received any visitors he wanted. He also had access to a swimming pool, baseball field, discotheque, restaurants, and even a zoo.
Today, Tren de Aragua’s power extends across Venezuela, where it controls gold mines in the state of Bolívar, drug corridors on the Caribbean coast, and part of the clandestine border crossings, also known as trochas, through which thousands of migrants cross the border with Colombia. But the group has also positioned in countries are the region such as Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia.
On September 20, 2023, Venezuelan authorities launched a large-scale security operation inside Tocorón prison. At least 11,000 police and military personnel entered the prison. But they failed to find Guerrero and the group’s leaders. Sources interviewed in Aragua claim that Tren de Aragua’s leaders had negotiated with the government and agreed on an escape plan days before the prison takeover.
Criminal Activities
The most important criminal economies that Niño Guerrero controls, whether through Tren de Aragua factions or under his direct supervision, include extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking, contract killings, car theft, and migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The group’s criminal portfolio extends to their control of extortion rackets, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking in Peru, Chile, and Colombia. Their incursion into these criminal businesses has also been responsible for the deterioration of security and increase in homicides in these countries.
With the loss of Tocorón, Niño Guerrero also stopped receiving important criminal revenues. The prison population was obliged to contribute to the “cause” via a prison tax that ranged from $10 to $15 each week or month, depending on the benefits received.
Beyond the prison walls, in the different neighborhoods of Maracay in Aragua, the gang still exercises criminal governance and enforces curfews, engages in vehicle theft, and receives extortion payments from merchants and local inhabitants.
Police sources investigating the Tren de Aragua in Chile and Peru claim that a portion of the criminal income the organization receives abroad ends up in Guerrero’s pockets. This is made possible through remittances and bank transfers of small sums to avoid alerting the financial authorities.
Geography
Niño Guerrero concentrated much of his power in the territorial control he exercises in central Venezuela, especially in the state of Aragua. To date, the reach of the Tren de Aragua has extended to the states of Lara, Trujillo, Sucre, Miranda, Guárico, Carabobo and Bolívar.
Added to this is the rapid and wide-ranging international expansion of the gang. In Colombia, the group has appeared in Bogotá, the country’s capital, where it fought with local gangs for control over micro-trafficking and zones where forced prostitution takes place. The group has also established itself in key migration points such as Cúcuta, a city that shares a border with Venezuela.
In Chile and Peru, transnational cells have followed the path of Venezuelan migrants, preying on their vulnerabilities through extortion and sexual exploitation. Something similar has happened in Ecuador, where members of the Tren de Aragua have camouflaged themselves with the recently arrived Venezuelan migrants, whom they have begun to extort to allow them to enter the country.
Although US and Colombian authorities believe Guerrero is hiding out in Colombia, Venezuelan security officials consulted by InSight Crime say that after leaving Tocorón he found refuge in the mining area of Las Claritas, in the municipality of Sifontes, Bolívar state, where he is protected by Yohan José Romero, alias “Johan Petrica,” one of the main leaders of the Tren de Aragua.
Allies and Enemies
In addition to the support that Niño Guerrero receives from Petrica in the Bolívar mining fields, the leadership of the Tren de Aragua also includes Larry Amaury Álvarez, alias “Larry Changa,” who migrated to Chile in 2018, and is believed to have helped coordinate the group’s international expansion prior to his arrest in Colombia in July 2024.
Below the main leaders are the lieutenants, locally known as “luceros.” In this list of Guerrero’s subordinates and trusted men, Wilmer Perez Castillo, alias “Wilmer Guayabal”, José Santana, alias “Santanita”, José Alvarado, alias “Goyo Chevrolet”, and a man identified as Kleiverson or alias “Flipper” who manages part of the group’s operations through campaigns in the Somos el Barrio JK Foundation, a pseudo-social community organization, stand out.
Niño Guerrero also has several local satellite gangs that serve as an alternative source of members and resources. One example is Flipper’s gang, the Las Veras gang, led by the late “Carlos Conejo”, the Coty gang, and the El Asdrubal gang, among others.
The gang’s criminal rivalries vary from country to country. In Bogotá, authorities have reported on the Tren de Aragua’s clashes with different criminal gangs for control of drug trafficking. In Cúcuta, a Colombian city bordering Venezuela, local media reported in 2021 that the group clashed with the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), the last guerrilla group standing in the western hemisphere.
In March 2024, Niño’s brother, Gerso Isaac Guerrero Flores, was arrested in Barcelona, Spain. Although his activities on European soil are unknown, Venezuelan authorities secured his extradition from Spain in July 2024 to face charges related to his involvement and important role in the Tren de Aragua.
Prospects
While Niño Guerrero lost his center of operations after the Tocorón intervention, the national and international operations of the Tren de Aragua appear to remain intact. The rapid adaptation shown by its members abroad and the diversification of its business, allowed in part the fall of Tocorón to become a symbolic loss rather than a structural blow.
However, despite the accelerated growth of the gang in the region, Guerrero’s inability to cross borders easily due to his high profile could result in the loss of influence over gang members abroad, leading to future structural fragmentation.