MIAMI.– Secretary of War USAPete Hegseth assured that the Trump administration will announce “big news” about Venezuela and criminal gangs designated as terrorist organizations by Washington.
“We are now working with countries in their respective territories to identify where these designated terrorists operate, where they produce their drugs,” said the US defense chief in a brief reference to Venezuela during his visit to the Guantanamo base in Cuba.
Hegseth gave the information while in the south of Venezuela a strong operation by the military forces of this country is being carried out in the Las Claritas sector, a gold extraction enclave that is part of the Arco Minero, where the criminal group Tren de Aragua and other locations operate.
Local media reported that the military with helicopter gunships are searching for Héctor Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero” and Yohan José Romero, alias “Yohan Petrica,” founders of the Venezuelan transnational crime organization.
These would be based in the mining town where other criminal and military gangs tolerant of the regime operate to protect illegal mining and other illicit activities.
Terrorist groups in Venezuela
According to the Secretary of War, designated terrorist groups “are trying to find new routes” to bring drugs into the United States.
“That is why we created the coalition of the Americas against the cartels. Now we collaborate with allied countries, operating within their own territories, to locate where these designated terrorists operate and where they manufacture their drugs. Sometimes we do it openly, so that the world knows, and other times discreetly,” said the defense chief.
After highlighting the network of alliances in Latin America with governments such as Ecuador, Honduras or Paraguay, he made reference to Venezuela.
“Big news will soon come out of Venezuela on that topic, because now we have a partner there in Venezuela willing to work with us,” although he did not offer more details, according to the reports.
The work, he said, is aimed at identifying criminal bases “where designated terrorist groups produce their drugs.”
“The War Department will be prepared and positioned for any possible contingency,” he stated.
