32 Cuban nationals were killed during the US attack on Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, the government in Havana has confirmed.
“As a result of the criminal attack carried out by the government of the United States against Venezuela, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combat operations,” the Cuban government said in a statement read on national television.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said that a large number of Maduro’s Cuban security personnel were killed in the US operation to “extract” the Venezuelan leader.
“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, saying that there was “a lot of death on the other side, unfortunately.”
The deceased were members of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces or the Ministry of the Interior who were carrying out missions “at the request of counterpart agencies,” Cuban officials said.
The official Cuban statement stressed that the soldiers had “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” carried out by the United States.
Havana has declared two days of national mourning beginning at dawn Monday, and pledged to organize tributes.
“Honor and glory to the brave Cuban fighters who fell facing terrorists in imperial uniform,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Trump believes that Cuba was “ready to fall” and may not really need US military intervention. “Cuba is ready to fall,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, saying it would be hard for Havana to “hold out” without receiving heavily subsidized Venezuelan oil.
“I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s going down.”
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez has called for a “balanced and respectful” relationship with Washington.
“We consider it a priority to move toward a balanced and respectful relationship between the US and Venezuela,” Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president, wrote on Telegram.
“We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation that is aimed toward shared development.”
Alarm & Applause In Venezuela
US military assault on Caracas to extract Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro unsettled many US allies, but also impressed others.
Trump said that the United States would “run” Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves. Maduro and his wife were flown to New York City, where they face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
Countries such as China, Russia, and Iran, which have longstanding ties with Maduro’s government, were quick to condemn the operation. But the alarm was also shared by US allies, including the EU.
However, Italy and Israel, whose leaders strongly back Trump, were more supportive.
Main Reactions:
– China –
China called for Maduro to be “immediately released” in a condemnation of the US operation, which the foreign ministry said was a “clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”.
– Russia –
Russia demanded that the US leadership “reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife”.
– North Korea –
North Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the United States’ capture of Maduro as a “serious encroachment of sovereignty”.
– Iran –
Iran, which Trump bombed last year, said it “strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
– Mexico –
Mexico, which Trump has also threatened with military force over drug trafficking, strongly condemned the US military action in Venezuela, saying it “seriously jeopardises regional stability”.
– Colombia –
Colombian President Gustavo Petro — whose country neighbours Venezuela — called the US action an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.
– Cuba –
Cuba, a strong ally of Venezuela, denounced “state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people”.
– France –
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the US operation undermined international law, and no solution to Venezuela’s crisis can be imposed externally.
But President Emmanuel Macron later said Venezuelans “can only rejoice” at Maduro’s overthrow.
– Spain –
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the intervention “violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and militarism”.
– EU –
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for “restraint” and respect for international law in Venezuela while emphasising that Maduro “lacks legitimacy”.
On Sunday, the EU issued a statement signed by all member states save Hungary, stating that respecting the will of the Venezuelan people was the only way to restore democracy.
– Britain –
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will discuss the “evolving situation” in Venezuela with the US while stating Britain will “shed no tears” about the demise of Maduro’s “regime”.
– Italy –
In a rare expression of support for the US operation by a major European country, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a Trump ally — argued the US military action in Venezuela was “legitimate” and “defensive”.
On Sunday, Meloni said she had spoken to Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, about a transition of power, with the two agreeing that Maduro’s removal opens a “new chapter” for the country.
Trump has dismissed Machado as a potential successor to Maduro.
– Israel –
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel supported the United States’ “strong action” in Venezuela to “restore freedom and justice to that region of the world”.
– Ukraine –
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga focused on Maduro’s lack of legitimacy and the Venezuelan government’s repression, while backing “democracy, human rights, and the interests of Venezuelans”.
– South Africa –
South Africa, which Trump accuses of alleged discrimination — and even “genocide” — of minority white Afrikaners, said: “Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations.”
– UN –
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the US strikes, with his spokesman quoting him as saying it could “constitute a dangerous precedent”.
– Pope –
Pope Leo XIV said the “welfare of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over all other considerations”.
By Agence France-Presse (AFP)
