Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela
The Cuban government announced that 32 of its citizens were killed during the US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
He declared two days of national mourning, describing the dead as members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies killed in “combat operations”.
The armed forces added that the Cubans “fell in direct combat against the attackers after fierce resistance or as a result of shelling of facilities.”
Cuba, a long-time ally of Venezuela, has been providing Maduro with personal security details for years and has personnel throughout the Venezuelan military.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the country provided protection to Maduro and his wife “at the request” of Venezuela.
According to US General Dan Caine, US spies had been monitoring Maduro’s movements for months before US forces attacked.
General Caine said they learned where the former leader moved, lived, traveled, ate and worked.
The New York Times reported that the CIA also recruited a “Venezuelan source” who tipped off the Americans to Maduro’s exact location.
Many of those killed are believed to be part of the close security detail that was with Maduro at the time.
Venezuela did not confirm how many people were killed, but its armed forces said the dead included “a large portion” of Maduro’s security detail.
The official statement made by the Cuban government included the following statements: “Our citizens fulfilled their duties honorably and heroically.”
The total death toll was at 80 and expected to rise, according to an unnamed Venezuelan official quoted by the New York Times. BBC News has not independently confirmed this report.
In the days following Maduro’s capture, questions were raised about whether the Trump administration might consider a similar operation against Cuba, which, like Venezuela, has had hostile relations with the United States for decades.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said there would be no need for military action because “Cuba is ready to fall.”
He continued: “I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s falling. It’s falling for the count.”
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Cuba as a “disaster” run by “incompetent, senile men”.
“If I lived in Havana and was in government, I would be at least a little worried,” Rubio said.
In July last year, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding that imposed tighter restrictions on Cuba, reversing moves by his predecessor Joe Biden and easing pressure on the Caribbean island nation.
The White House said it would end “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security institutions at the expense of the Cuban people.”
It was also stated that current restrictions on Americans visiting Cuba will be enforced more strictly.
During his first term as president, Trump took a similar approach to Cuba and imposed a series of additional sanctions.
His administration continued the economic embargo on Cuba despite calls from international organizations, including the United Nations, to end the embargo.
The blockade was first imposed in 1962 and has been in effect ever since.
