Cuba confirmed on Monday that 32 of its nationals were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela.
The operation on Saturday involved U.S. forces capturing and transporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to New York, which reportedly resulted in significant casualties among his security team.
The Cuban nationals were engaged in missions for the Cuban Armed Forces and the interior ministry, as stated by the presidential office on Facebook.
“In loyalty to their duties of security and defense, our comrades fulfilled their duty with honor and bravery, falling after vigorous resistance, either in direct confrontation with the assailants or due to bombings of their positions,” the statement declared, as translated by Facebook.
Cuba also denounced the U.S. airstrikes as a “criminal act of aggression and state terrorism,” promising to honor those who lost their lives.
The U.S. strikes followed weeks of military escalation in the area and direct threats from U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at Maduro.
After the operation, Trump stated that the U.S. would “manage” Venezuela, “until we can achieve a safe, proper, and prudent transition.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned that the U.S. will leverage its oil blockade against Venezuela and military preparations in the region to fulfill its policy objectives.
“We want Venezuela to progress in a specific manner,” Rubio told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker.
Additionally, Rubio elaborated on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” about the U.S. imposing a “quarantine” on Venezuelan oil.
“This implies their economy won’t advance until the conditions beneficial to both the United States and the Venezuelan populace are satisfied, and that’s our goal,” he added.
Recently, the U.S. has seized tankers connected to Venezuela and dispatched military vessels and aircraft to the Caribbean.
— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
