Former intelligence officer: “The psychological impact within the FAR is tremendous”

HAVANA.- The attack by US troops on Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Floresexposed the Cuban military intervention in that country, which the Havana regime has denied for years.

At least 32 Cuban soldiers died. In exclusive interview with CubaNet Enrique García Díaz stated that the number of fatalities and the existence of serious injuries could be higher. García was an operational agent of the General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) for 11 years. As part of this work, he was in charge of secret diplomatic missions, and political or economic affairs in Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Over the years, he changed his way of thinking until he began to come into direct contradiction with the positions of the Cuban communist regime. He collaborated with the CIA and in 1989 fled Ecuador. After his defection and exile in the United States, he became one of the most powerful voices denouncing the Cuban regime.

The former senior Castro intelligence officer analyzes the events that occurred in Venezuela and their causes.

We saw in those first days, after the early hours of January 3, a post from the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who said that 85 Cuban soldiers had died; He even posted a listing, but later deleted it. What information have you had about this? Are there really 32 Cuban soldiers who died or could there have been many more?

I think it is possible that even today the exact number of deaths is not yet known, both for Cubans and Venezuelans. In my opinion there must be more, due to the level of destruction of the attacks.

Another thing, in all combats there are always more wounded than dead. However, no number of injuries has been given. That is why I believe that the information that has come out everywhere is very limited and at some point the truth will have to be known.

A few days ago María Werlau, director of Archivo Cuba and her wife, informed the Spanish newspaper ABC that she had received information that there were several Cubans injured with serious burns. Has any information reached you?

Exactly, I have received the same information, that there were a large number of injured; Just as it is possible that there are a greater number of deaths in that action.

The Cuban regime identified the 32 they recognized as killed in the attack. There are among them colonels, lieutenant colonels, but there are a large number of soldiers, and it is striking that among these soldiers there are several who are over 40 years old and it is assumed that at that age they have more military ranks within the Armed Forces or the Ministry of the Interior. Could the regime be hiding something behind this military rank?

You have to see the activities they carried out. Possibly, where the greatest losses occurred were those Cubans belonging to the Personal Security Directorate, who were those who were in the ring or rings closest to the dictator Maduro. But the Cuban Ministry of the Interior has advisors in all branches and this has been known for many years; the only person who has not recognized everything is the Cuban regime. He has advisors from the Ministry of the Interior in all directions, in counterintelligence, in military counterintelligence, in figures, in border guards…

Could they be, for example, drivers, cooks…?

Exactly, the civilian personnel. The terminology used in Cuba is “civilian personnel of the Ministry of the Interior” or “civilian personnel of the Armed Forces.”

They belong to the Armed Forces, but they remain with the rank of soldiers because they are not pursuing a career within the FAR or within the MININT.

The figure of 32 deaths is quite high. However, they did not cause a single casualty to the American troops. This represents a defeat, a tremendous failure for the Cuban dictatorship. The question is: were these Cuban soldiers really prepared to face the United States special forces?

What you just said is what reflects the incompetence, in this case, of the Cuban security services and of the entire Ministry of the Interior, of the Armed Forces and of the entire Cuban intervention in Venezuela. And it is this: when you offer personal security protection to an ally or a pawn of the Cuban regime – such as Mr. Maduro -, your first mission is to predict what you are going to protect that person against, what the threats are. That is, they must be prepared for what is coming.

Fidel Castrofor example, had the largest personal security of any head of state in the world: made up of 10,000 troops. In the case of Maduro, it was obvious and it was known that the United States had raised the possibility of arresting him by a court order, because Nicolás Maduro is a criminal who also usurped the presidency of Venezuela. So, if you have one of the largest fleets in the world in front of you and you realize that you do not have the capacity to confront it, you must recognize it and tell Maduro “look, we could protect you against a sniper, against a bomb, but we cannot against this.”

An extraction operation like the one carried out by the United States special forces, neither Cuba nor anyone else had the capacity to stop it. Therefore, that was incompetence on the part of the Cuban services, because they should have foreseen that and should have told Maduro.

Did they trust each other then?

No, they are incompetent, because they had to know that they couldn’t do anything.

So, they deceived Maduro.

We have seen that, since these attacks, in Cuba they have applied what they call “Variant 1”, which is a general military mobilization, the maximum state of alarm in the Armed Forces. I have even received information – from people who live around some of these military units – that in recent days they have even heard shots, movements, noises typical of military exercises. Approximately two days ago, they already told me that they had moved to “Variant 2”, that is, they were no longer quartered directly in the military units, but they had to be reachable.

Why this general military mobilization in Cuba? What would the Cuban regime be afraid of?

That’s typical. I remember “Variant 1” having been an officer in the Intelligence Directorate of the MININT in the 80s, when I was in Cuba. It was very common when the so-called “war of all the people” began in the early 80s. It was a bit to create a state of tension and that “the wolf is coming.” I think that is the intention because, as far as is known or has been seen so far, we are not seeing an imminent threat of that nature.

I even think that this state of tension is more directed internally than externally.

There has been talk of the burden that the fact that Venezuelan crude oil does not continue to arrive could have on Cuba, for example, in the economic crisis. But this capture of Maduro and, above all, the death of these Cuban soldiers, also has other implications on the psychology of the Cuban armed forces. What could this represent for the Cuban military?

First, the psychological impact is tremendous because the incompetence of the Cuban security services has been demonstrated and the enormous capabilities and brilliant operation developed by the United States special forces have also been demonstrated. On the other hand, it will also have an impact on international geopolitics.

But, back to the other factor. Look, this is an elementary topic, as basic as ABC. The Cuban regime managed to survive the end of the 90s or the end of the so-called “special period” for a reason: because Hugo Chávez came to power, which Cuba managed and was Cuba’s checkbook for many years; and then Cuba’s pawn, Nicolás Maduro, and the Venezuelan subsidy, together with the sale of forced slavery with Cuban collaborators around the world that brought in a few billion, allowed the dictatorship to survive. Before that it had survived on Soviet subsidy.

Unquestionably, if the Messiah or the main Messiah that the Cuban regime has, which is the Venezuelan regime, disappears, I think it really is a very serious issue. The situation in Cuba is very complex and this would make it even more complex.

In part, this is why President Trump has said that the Cuban regime is ready to fall, but to fall under its own weight.

Enrique, the Cuban regime has classified those soldiers who died as heroes. What do you think?

What I feel is pity that the Cuban regime has sacrificed them in that way, so conscious. This is an act of betrayal by the Cuban regime because, I repeat what I just told you, you did not have to be a genius, just a good professional, to predict – which is what the intelligence and counterintelligence of the personal security services of any politician in the world or people are for – the magnitude of that attack.

So, they themselves sent them to the slaughterhouse. They [el régimen cubano] They are responsible for those deaths.