Thirty-two Cuban officers were killed in Venezuela over the weekend during an American military operation, the Cuban government has confirmed, marking the first official acknowledgement of the fatalities. According to a statement broadcast on Cuban state television on Sunday night, the military and police personnel were engaged in a mission undertaken by the Caribbean nation’s military at the behest of the Venezuelan government.
The precise nature of their work in the South American country remains undisclosed. However, Cuba and Venezuela share a close alliance, with Havana having dispatched military and police forces to assist in various operations over several years. “Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defence, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and fell after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombings of the facilities,” the official statement added.
US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night: “You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday. There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was due to appear in a US court on Monday after his weekend capture by American forces, with Trump leaving open the possibility of another incursion if the United States does not get its way with the country’s interim leader.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he could order another strike if Venezuela does not cooperate with US efforts to open up its oil industry and stop drug trafficking. He also threatened military action in Colombia and Mexico and said Cuba’s communist regime “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own. The remarks came on the eve of Maduro’s scheduled appearance on Monday before a federal judge in New York.
Maduro was detained during a military raid on Saturday in Caracas that drew international concern and plunged Venezuela into uncertainty. Trump administration officials have portrayed the seizure as a law-enforcement action to hold Maduro accountable for criminal charges filed in 2020 that accuse him of narco-terrorism conspiracy. But Trump himself has said other factors were at play, saying the raid was prompted in part by an influx of Venezuelan immigrants to the United States and the country's decision to nationalise US oil interests decades ago.
“We’re taking back what they stole,” he said. “We’re in charge.” Oil companies will return to Venezuela and rebuild the country’s petroleum industry, Trump said. Meanwhile, Maduro’s government remains in power in Caracas, and top officials have remained defiant. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who has taken over as interim leader, has said Maduro remains president and has contradicted Trump’s claim that she is willing to work with the United States.
