Madrid/Cuba enters into official mourning at 6 a.m. this Monday and will remain so until midnight Tuesday for the 32 deaths in the US operation to arrest Nicolás Maduro last Saturday. The Government, which had remained silent after the US president’s commentsDonald Trump – “many Cubans lost their lives protecting Maduro” – reported the events through the Presidency’s X account.
“As a result of the criminal attack perpetrated by the Government of the United States against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combative actions,” reads the post, which links to a statement published in Granma.
The text indicates that the deceased “were carrying out missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart bodies in the South American country,” without explicitly saying that they were part of Maduro’s security circle. The presence of Cuban military personnel in Venezuela, confirmed by multiple sources in the last two decades, had been explicitly denied by the Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, in statements made in 2019 and reiterated in several subsequent interventions.
“The accusation by the president of the United States that Cuba maintains a private army in Venezuela is infamous. I urge him to present evidence”
“The accusation by the president of the United States that Cuba maintains a private army in Venezuela is infamous. I urge him to present evidence. Our Government rejects that slander in the strongest and most categorical terms,” the chancellor responded to a comment made by Trump during his first term and prior to alleging that the Cuban personnel deployed in the country were completely civilian, 94% of the health sector.
The Government now affirms that, once the identities of the deceased have been verified and the families have been informed, it is communicating to the population what happened. “Faithful to their responsibilities with security and defense, our compatriots carried out their duty with dignity and heroically and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” the statement said.
This statement contradicts the statements of the US military high command, which described a lightning operation lasting a few minutes to capture Maduro and lasting just two hours in total. The same sources indicate that there was little resistance from the security ring thanks to the effect of surprise and that the bodyguards of the leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, did not have time to move them to a very close bunkered area planned for this type of emergency.
/ José A. Rodríguez
The relatives of the deceased have received “the heartfelt condolences and support” of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, and the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, as well as the ministries of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
“Victims of a new criminal act of state aggression and terrorism, the combatants were able to highlight, with their heroic actions, the feeling of solidarity of millions of compatriots. The Revolutionary Government will organize the corresponding actions to pay them the well-deserved tribute,” closes the text, which has been disseminated in the official media.
Díaz-Canel, who also spread the statement on his The message suggests that the Government plans to allege that the military was recently on Venezuelan soil.
“I share pain and indignation with our people and especially with the loved ones of our brave colleagues. As I embrace their family and friends, in this unfortunate hour, I reiterate my great affection, admiration and pride for them and their heroic behavior,” the text concludes.
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela pays tribute to the 32 Cuban combatants who gave their lives fulfilling their duty”
Venezuela has also issued a statement to thank Cuba for its support “in the framework of cooperation between sovereign States and [los fallecidos] “they were carrying out institutional protection and defense tasks.”
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela pays tribute to the 32 Cuban combatants who gave their lives while fulfilling their duty,” says the document, which praises the deceased for acting with “bravery, discipline and unwavering commitment to regional peace and stability.”
The text also expresses the “deep solidarity” with the Cuban Government and personalizes its gratitude to Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel, although it extends “a fraternal hug to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the families of the fallen combatants, whose sacrifice strengthens the historical ties of brotherhood, sovereignty and shared struggle between our nations.”
The total number of deaths in the operation rises, according to The New York Timeswhich cites Venezuelan sources, 80 people, while Washington officials told the newspaper that there are half a dozen American soldiers wounded, although Trump did not want to confirm the numbers.
