Thirty-Two Cuban Personnel Killed in Action During Clashes with U.S. Forces in Venezuela

Cuban government sources have confirmed that 32 Cuban Armed Forces personnel were killed in action when engaged by U.S. forces in Venezuela on January 3. This followed confirmation from Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Lopez that most of President Nicholas Maduro's security detail was killed during the operation by U.S. Army Delta Force special forces to abduct him, although the full number of casualties was not specified. Unconfirmed reports indicate that many of the Cuban personnel killed in action were part of the president’s security detail, although U.S. forces inflicted casualties across multiple military facilities and key infrastructure sites across the capital Caracas. A possibility also remains that Cuban personnel may have been manning medium and long range air defence systems which were targeted by U.S. forces.

Havana said there would be two days of mourning on January 5 and 6 in honour of those killed, observing regarding the circumstances of their deaths: "True to their responsibilities concerning security and defence, 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.” Acknowledging the death toll among Cuban personnel, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4: “a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.” Cuba and Venezuela have had close security ties for close to two decades, with Cuba having had a much longer history of operating advanced military equipment, but having limited access to it since the disintegration of the Soviet Union cut off military aid. This has long fuelled speculation that Cuban personnel may be relied on to help operate advanced equipment such as Su-30MK2 fighter aircraft and S-300VM long range air defence systems. 

Cuba has a long history of deploying forces abroad to support Western Bloc adversaries, including to participate in the 1973 Yom Kippur War on the side of Syria, and to support socialist Angolan forces during clashes with South Africa including operating MiG-23 fighters and local air defence systems. The country has remained in a state of conflict with the Untied States since the late 1950s, and remains under a U.S. blockade. Tensions with Washington flared in 2021, when local and Russian sources warned of a possible U.S. attack on the country. The Cuban Armed Forces have seen their standing decline significantly since the early 1990s, as a loss of Soviet support to counterbalance the effects of the U.S. blockade had devastating effects for the local economy. Economic ties with Venezuela have over the past two decades played a vital role in sustaining the Cuban economy.