Venezuela's armed forces have conducted a mass funeral in Caracas, beginning the process of burying dozens of troops killed during a United States-led weekend operation aimed at capturing the country's former president, Nicolás Maduro.
A Solemn Ceremony in the Capital
On Wednesday, the sombre event unfolded in the nation's capital. Men carried wooden caskets, each draped in the Venezuelan flag, past rows of uniformed officers. The sounds of singing from a nearby church and music from a military orchestra filled the air at the cemetery.
Throngs of grieving family members and fellow soldiers marched behind the row of caskets. As the coffins were lowered into the ground at the state-owned graveyard in a low-income southern neighbourhood of Caracas, gunfire from a military salute echoed across the site.
Earlier in the day, during a wake, families were seen weeping and embracing beside the caskets. Commander Rafael Murillo addressed the bereaved, stating, "Thank you for letting them embrace a military career."
The Fatal Operation and Mounting Casualties
According to the Venezuelan military, the fatalities occurred during a dead-of-night raid over the weekend. The objective of the US operation was to seize Maduro and transport him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
At least 24 Venezuelan security officers lost their lives in the incident. Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, stated that "dozens" of officers and civilians were killed. He announced that prosecutors would investigate the deaths, which he characterised as a "war crime." He did not clarify if his estimate referred exclusively to Venezuelan nationals.
In a separate development, the Cuban government announced on Sunday that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had died in the same operation. The announcement prompted two days of official mourning on the Caribbean island.
Patrols and Vows of Justice
In the lead-up to the funeral, armed National Guard members patrolled certain areas as families of the deceased completed the necessary paperwork for the burials.
The Venezuelan military's resolve was made clear in an Instagram post on Monday. It read: "Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength. It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil."
Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.
