After the attacks by the US government against several targets in the national territory, the first testimonies of survivors of the military incursion that occurred in the early hours of January 3 in Caracas began to be known, which led to the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the first lady Cilia Flores and in the death of 32 Cuban combatants.
“We were sleeping in the early morning hours when the criminal attack by the US government against the group of companions who were there caused the death of 11 companions in that place,” said Pedro Yadín, a Cuban survivor who was injured during the attack.
Yadín, who is a Colonel in the Cuban Army, maintained that they provided support for the security of the president, Nicolás Maduro. He added that this demonstrates the “kind of imperialist government” of Donald Trump.
He assured that it was a disproportionate attack, since, at that time “we barely had weapons and the attack was with planes, bombs, drones and two Apache helicopters that machine-gunned indiscriminately with the aim of not leaving anyone alive, with the purpose of destroying all the comrades who were there.”
The testimony reflects the magnitude of the attack and the trauma it left among the survivors, who are still trying to process what happened while acts of tribute to the victims are held in Cuba and Venezuela.
The context of the attack
The January 3 military incursion into Caracas caused a political and humanitarian crisis. In addition to the kidnapping of President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, the event left multiple victims and generated international condemnation.
Colonel Yadín said that after the attack, he was evacuated to a hospital and his legs required surgery; he could not accompany the others to collect belongings of those who had fallen in combat.
He thanked his Venezuelan counterparts who assisted him and accompanied him as a sign of cooperation between both armed institutions, which are one, he expressed.
In Cuba, the bodies of the fallen soldiers were received with honors, while in Venezuela acts of solidarity, honors for the fallen and popular protests have been carried out against what has been described as an imperial aggression.
Reactions and national mourning
Yadín’s testimony joins the voices that denounce the violence of the attack and that ask for justice for the victims. Tribute ceremonies have been organized in both Havana and Caracas, with the participation of family members, authorities and citizens who demand respect for sovereignty and condemn the aggression.
