Nicolás Maduro was permanently guarded by an elite group belonging to the popular G2 group, which makes up the Intelligence Service of the Cuban Government. 32 of them died during the attack with which the United States captured and exfiltrated the ruler. But who are they?
To learn a little more about these Cuban counterintelligence agents who worked as bodyguards in Nicolás Maduro’s personal security, we interviewed Arturo Grandón, Security, Defense, Intelligence and Special Operations analyst, in turn director of the Security College in the United States.
An “elite group”
“The personnel who were discharged in this operation corresponded to one of the personal guard units that Nicolás Maduro had. His first security ring was clearly made up of the Cuban army, since Nicolás Maduro did not trust the forces that could protect him in Venezuela, due to problems of betrayal or something that could happen to him,” he explains.
“They were not over 40 years old, that is what we have as a background. It was an elite group prepared for this type of event and they are the ones who died in combat, because when the assault itself took place it was very cruel. I mean, in reality the intelligence reports that we have are that the attack that was carried out was very, very harsh and they did not react as they thought the reaction of Maduro’s security would be,” adds the specialist.
*Read also: Cuba affirms that 32 Cubans died in a US military attack in Venezuela
“Chávez also had Cuban security personnel”
The G2 group has been present in Venezuela since 1999, coinciding with the first year of Hugo Chávez’s presidency, after an agreement between both countries in exchange for oil for a restructuring of the Venezuelan military forces.
“He has always been supported by Cuban people, both in the tactical part and in the intelligence part. So, from the moment that Chávez is operating in Venezuela, this exchange in quotes of Cuba’s support for Venezuela begins. Chávez also had Cuban security personnel, he also had Cuban intelligence personnel operating not only in Venezuela but in those Venezuelan delegations abroad,” indicates Arturo Grandón.
The Cuban Intelligence group, which is responsible for collecting information on internal and external threats to the security of its State, operates both inside and outside the island. It was created in 1961 and since then it has had a presence in several Latin American countries, especially in Nicaragua and Venezuela.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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