The US Southern Command airstrike on a compound in Venezuela last week killed Tren de Aragua leader Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero.” Guerrero was hiding for many years in a vast strip of land in southern Venezuela, rich with gold and cobalt. Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, tells The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler that eliminating Guerrero may be one “first, small step” to opening up the mining region to US interests.

The death of a gang leader has let Venezuela's army move on the Orinoco gold belt, a step the state hopes will finally open mining to foreign investors.

The US Southern Command airstrike on a compound in Venezuela last week killed Tren de Aragua leader Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero.” Guerrero was hiding…