US attack on Venezuela kills 32 Cubans

The Cuban government says 32 Cuban nationals have been killed in the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The statement said the deceased were members of the armed forces and intelligence agencies and declared two days of national mourning.

A brief statement did not elaborate on the Cubans’ role in Venezuela, but the two governments are long-time allies, with Cuba providing security support in exchange for oil.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said they were offering protection to Maduro and his wife “at Venezuela’s request.”

An official government statement read: “Our compatriots performed their duties with dignity and heroism, falling in direct combat with attackers or after fierce resistance in explosions at facilities.”

Venezuela has not yet confirmed how many people were killed during a U.S. attack on Maduro’s compound in Caracas on Saturday.

The New York Times on Sunday, citing an unnamed Venezuelan official, put the death toll at 80, with the death toll expected to rise. BBC News has not independently verified the report.

In the days since Maduro’s arrest, some have questioned whether the Trump administration could consider similar action against Cuba, which, like Venezuela, has had a decades-old hostile relationship with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that military action was not necessary because “Cuba is ready to fall.”

He continued: “I don’t think we need to take any action. It looks like it’s going down. The counts are going down.”

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Cuba a “disaster” run by “incompetent, decrepit people.”

“If I lived in Havana and I was in government, I would be concerned — at least a little concerned,” Rubio said.

Last July, Trump signs memorandum to impose tighter restrictions on Cubareversing moves by his predecessor Joe Biden to ease pressure on the Caribbean island nation.

The White House said it would end “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people.”

It also said existing restrictions on Americans visiting Cuba would be more strictly enforced.

During his first term as president, Trump took a similar approach against Cuba, imposing a series of additional sanctions.

His government continues to impose an economic embargo on Cuba despite calls from international organizations, including the United Nations, to end it.

The blockade was first implemented in 1962 and has remained in force ever since.