32 Cuban officers killed in US ops in Venezuela
HAVANA—An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said on Sunday in the first official acknowledgement of the deaths.
The Cuban military and police officers were on a mission the Caribbean country’s military was carrying out at the request of Venezuela’s government, according to a statement read on Cuban state TV on Sunday night.
What the Cubans were working on in the South American nation was unclear, but Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela’s government, has sent military and police forces to assist in operations for years.
‘Death on other side’
“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew on Sunday night from Florida back to Washington. “There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”
Cuba’s government announced two days of mourning.
“Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defense, 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.
Shell-shocked
An anxious quiet fell over Venezuela ‘s capital on Sunday as trepidation mixed with joy, while a nation waited to see what comes next.
People were slow to resume routines in Caracas after President Nicolás Maduro was deposed and captured in a dramatic US military operation. Dozens of stores, restaurants and churches remained closed. Those on the streets looked shell-shocked, staring at their phones or into the distance.
“People are still shaken,” said 77-year-old David Leal, who arrived to work as a parking attendant but realized he likely would not have customers. He pointed to the deserted street, a few blocks from Venezuela’s presidential palace, which was guarded by armed civilians and military personnel.
Transition
Venezuela is no stranger to political tumult, but the dead-of-night US military operation early Saturday marked a new chapter with no ready script.
Trump initially said the United States would “run” the country until there was stability, a remark that Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to walk back on Sunday.
Rubio insisted in interviews that Washington will use control of Venezuela’s oil industry to force policy changes and called the government currently in place illegitimate. The country is home to the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves.
“We want to see Venezuela transition to be a place completely different than what it looks like today. But obviously, we don’t have the expectation that’s going to happen in the next 15 hours,” Rubio said.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, flanked by the high military command, told Venezuelans that Maduro was still the rightful leader. Presidential duties, however, now belong to Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, whom the high court ordered to assume the role of interim president.
Rodríguez made no public comment on Sunday.
Maduro’s cadre of government officials demanded his release from custody in New York, where his first court appearance is set for Monday. State-controlled media did not air the images of him handcuffed on US soil.
