Havana/The official information about the 32 Cubans died in Venezuela during the US operation to capture Nicolás Maduro remains brief, fragmentary and marked by silence. However, in the last few hours, social networks, private messages and partial confirmations from local authorities have allowed us to put together a first portrait of who some of those men were and what type of functions they fulfilled in the South American country.
What has been emerging consistently points to personnel linked to the security organs of the Cuban State and the Armed Forces, many of them integrated into rings of direct protection of the Chavista power, and coming mostly from the east of the Island, especially from the provinces of Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
The Cuban Government declared national mourning after recognizing that the deceased “were carrying out missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior,” an admission that contrasts with years of official denials about the presence of Cuban troops in Venezuela. However, no official lists with names, ranks, or functions have been published, nor have clear details been offered about the circumstances of each death, which has left the field fertile for speculation and indirect testimonies.
The first secretary of the Communist Party in that province, Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, recognized that six of the deceased were officials from Granma.
One of the first confirmations with institutional backing came from Granma. The first secretary of the Communist Party in that province, Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, acknowledged that six of the deceased were officials from Granma, without specifying their identities. From there, specific names began to circulate. Among them is Fernando Baez Hidalgo26 years old, native of Río Cauto (Granma), linked to the Personal Security Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior and designated as Maduro’s direct escort. His name has been mentioned in several coincidental publications, although without official confirmation.
Granma has also identified Erduin Rosabal, a native of La Rinconada, indicated in messages and publications as a member of the Venezuelan president’s first security ring.
In Santiago de Cuba is the origin of Landy Osoria López, a native of Baire, Contramaestre, repeatedly described as a member of the Cuban State Security and part of the team deployed in Caracas. Several publications place him among the deceased, even citing family addresses, although these data have not been corroborated by a single official source.
The independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada reported on the death of Alejandro Rodríguez33 years old, resident in the Boniato neighborhood. According to testimonies collected by the reporter, the family received contradictory versions from the authorities about the location and transfer of the body. A relative reported that first they were told that the body was not found, then that it had been located and that they would be notified. According to this source, both Rodríguez Royo and his brother would be linked to State Security structures.
Also from Santiago, Yordenis Marlonis has been identified, who, according to various publications, was part of the direct protection device of the Venezuelan president and his wife. He was the son of parents from the town of Dos Caminos and left his wife and a young daughter in Cuba. Sources cited by The Scissors They point out that before his mission in Venezuela he had been a bodyguard of the former first secretary of the Party in that province, Lázaro Expósito Canto, a fact that reinforces his membership in high-level security forces. Officials from the Ministry of the Interior would have informed his family of the death, although without offering precise details.
Added to these names are images and messages published by profiles linked to veterans of special troops, such as the Black Wasps.
Other identities have emerged from Pinar del Río, such as Yoel Caraballo, a native of Consolación del Sur, whose death was officially confirmed to his daughter by the Personal Security Directorate of that same ministry. His case stands out for being, so far, one of the few in which direct and formal notification to a family member is mentioned.
The case of Yandri, whose last name is still unknown, is also part of the family sphere, whose death was reported by his cousin Moraima Rodríguez through social networks. In her message, the woman expressed pride in her “duty fulfilled” protecting Maduro, a statement that, beyond the tone, confirms the escort function attributed to the deceased.
Added to these names are images and messages published by profiles linked to veterans of special troops, such as the Black Wasps, who have spread photographs of alleged fallen unidentified bodyguards, accompanied by slogans of loyalty and sacrifice. Although this type of publications have a strong propaganda bias, they coincide in pointing out direct protection functions.
The absence of a complete official list, the opaque handling of information and the dependence on leaks and private mourning reinforce the feeling that the truth about these 32 dead is still incomplete and continues to arrive in dribs and drabs, from the margins, rather than from the institutions.
