Cuba releases details of 32 officers killed in US strike on Venezuela as US defends attack
The names, ranks and ages of the 32 Cuban military personnel killed during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces were published Tuesday by the Cuban Government, which announced two days of mourning.
Among the deceased are colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, as well as some reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60. The uniformed personnel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, Cuba’s two main security agencies. The publication did not specify their missions or exactly how they died.
Cuban State media published their details and headshots, which show them clad in olive-green military uniforms. In a Statement Sunday, Cuban authorities acknowledged the deaths of the personnel who were in the South American nation as part of agreements between the two countries.
“Our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism, falling after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers, or as a result of the bombing of the facilities,” the official Statement said. Limited details of Cubans killed in strike: Information about the Cuban officers killed began trickling out on Monday night, with Cubans publicly saying they had died for a just cause.
“You have to say that to say the same thing as the Government,” said Luis Dominguez, who runs the website, Represores Cubanos, or Cuban Repressors, which doxes officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses and violations of democratic norms.
“Inside, Cubans have to be saying something else,” he added. Dominguez said he believes that one of those killed, 67-year-old Col. Humberto Alfonso Roca Sanchez, used to be the garrison commander of Punto Cero, where Fidel Castro once lived. Another officer who was killed, 62-year-old Col. Lazaro Evangelio Rodriguez Rodriguez, is believed to have overseen Cuba’s coast and border guards, Dominguez said.
As top-tier economic and political allies, Cuba and Venezuela have agreements in areas ranging from security to energy, with the sale of subsidised oil to the island since 2000. However, the extent of military or advisory exchanges has rarely been reported. A post published Monday on the independent website La Joven Cuba, a blog that provides a platform for many opposition voices on the island, featured a profile of 1st Lt. Yunio Estevez.
It was written by a journalist who was a close friend. The post included details of the 32-year-old’s life and featured pictures with his three children, whom he had raised together in Guantanamo province in eastern Cuba. La Joven Cuba report Stated that Estevez, a communications expert in charge of a personal security department, was shot during the attack. The post was removed later that evening at the family’s request, the website reported.
