Thirty-two Cubans killed during US attack on Venezuela
Getty Images The US carried out a number of air strikes against targets in Venezuela as an elite military
Getty ImagesThe Cuban government has said 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
It said the dead were members of its armed forces and intelligence agencies, with two days of national mourning declared.
A short statement did not elaborate on the role of the Cubans in Venezuela, but the two governments are long-standing allies, with Cuba providing security support in exchange for oil.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said they had been providing protection to Maduro and his wife “at the request” of Venezuela.
An official government statement read: “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 bombings on the facilities.”
Venezuela has not confirmed how many people were killed during the US raid on Maduro’s compound in Caracas on Saturday.
The New York Times, citing an unnamed Venezuelan official, reported on Sunday that the death toll stood at 80 and was expected to rise. BBC News has not independently verified that report.
In the days following the capture of Maduro, questions have been raised over whether the Trump administration could consider a similar operation against Cuba, which, like Venezuela, has had decades of adversarial relations with the US.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said military action would not be necessary because “Cuba is ready to fall”.
He continued: “I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Cuba as a “disaster” run by “incompetent, senile men”.
“If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned – at least a little bit,” Rubio said.
In July last year, Trump signed a memorandum imposing tighter restrictions on Cuba, reversing moves by his predecessor Joe Biden easing 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 stringently enforced.
During his first term as president, Trump took a similar approach to Cuba, implementing a raft of additional sanctions.
His administration has continued an economic embargo on Cuba, despite calls by international organisations including the United Nations to end it.
The blockade was initially imposed in 1962 and has been in place ever since.
