Cuban soldiers killed during Venezuela attack to be returned

The bodies of 32 Cuban soldiers and security personnel killed during the US military intervention in Venezuela arrived in Cuba for official military ceremonies and burials.

The Venezuelan government announced that more than 100 people were killed in the country during the US raid on the capital Caracas on January 3.

The Cubans were working as security guards for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro when he was forcibly removed from Venezuelan territory and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

The soldiers’ bodies will be received with military honors and taken to the Ministry of Armed Forces in the capital Havana, where the public can pay their respects.

Events will then be held in municipalities on the island, and a protest will be held in front of the US embassy on Friday before the bodies are buried.

Many of those killed were assigned to protect Maduro when US Delta Force troops entered his compound.

This number is believed to be the largest number of Cuban fighters killed by the US military since then. Bay of Pigs invasion – An unsuccessful attempt to overthrow former leader Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba in 1961.

Venezuela is a long-time ally of Cuba.

Following the latest US action, US President Donald Trump continued his pressure on the Cuban government, saying the country was “ready to fall”.

Interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela will no longer send oil to Cuba – something that would deal a major blow to the communist-ruled nation.

Cuba is in the grip of a serious economic and energy crisis and may not be able to afford to lose its most important benefactor of the last 25 years.

The Cuban government has vowed to continue resisting Washington’s pressure and economic embargo.

But Cubans are worried about what a deepening conflict with the United States would mean for basic needs like keeping the country’s lights on and getting food amid widespread famine.