Cuba says 32 Cuban officers were killed in US operation in Venezuela

HAVANA — An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said Sunday in the first official death count provided of the American strikes in the South American nation.

The Cuban military and police officers were on a mission the Caribbean country’s military was carrying out at the request of Venezuela’s government, according to a statement read on Cuban state TV on Sunday night.

What the Cubans were working on in the South American nation was unclear, but Cuba is a close ally of Venezuela’s government and has sent military and police forces to assist in operations for years. Rumors of the deaths circulated on the island over the weekend.

“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew Sunday night from Florida back to Washington. “There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”

The U.S. operation Saturday seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to face prosecution on an indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

While Venezuela’s government has acknowledged that a number of people died in the American blasts, they did not confirm how many were killed to The Associated Press.

Cuba’s government announced two days of mourning for the Cuban officers who were killed, and former president and revolutionary leader Raúl Castro and President Miguel Díaz-Canel sent condolences to their families. The names of the dead and the positions they held were not immediately disclosed by Cuban authorities.

“Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defense, 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 the bombings of the facilities,” the official statement said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also pointed to Cuban involvement in Venezuela over the weekend, saying that Maduro’s internal security apparatus was headed by Cubans and that they were “propping up Maduro.”

“All the guards that help protect Maduro — this is well known — their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans,” Rubio said.

Associated Press reporters Megan Janetsky in Mexico City and Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

哈瓦那——古巴政府周日表示，美国在委内瑞拉的军事行动中造成32名古巴军官死亡，这是美国在南美国家发动空袭后首次公布的官方死亡人数。

根据古巴国家电视台周日晚间发布的一份声明，古巴军警人员当时正在执行一项任务，该任务是应委内瑞拉政府的要求由古巴军队执行的。

古巴人在南美国家委内瑞拉的具体行动尚不清楚，但古巴是委内瑞拉政府的亲密盟友，多年来一直派遣军队和警察部队协助其开展行动。周末期间，有关人员死亡的传言在古巴岛上流传开来。

“你知道，昨天有很多古巴人丧生，”美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周日晚间在从佛罗里达飞回华盛顿的空军一号上告诉记者。“对方伤亡惨重。我们这边没有人员伤亡。”

美国周六的行动逮捕了委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗及其妻子，他们将面临起诉，指控他们参与了毒品恐怖主义阴谋。

虽然委内瑞拉政府承认有多人在美国爆炸事件中丧生，但他们没有向美联社确认具体死亡人数。

古巴政府宣布为遇难的古巴军官举行两天哀悼，前总统兼革命领袖劳尔·卡斯特罗和现任总统米格尔·迪亚斯-卡内尔向遇难者家属表示慰问。古巴当局尚未公布遇难者的姓名和职务。

官方声明称：“我们的同胞忠于安全和国防职责，以尊严和英勇履行职责，在与袭击者的直接战斗中顽强抵抗后牺牲，或在设施遭到轰炸后牺牲。”

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥是古巴移民的儿子，他也在周末指出古巴对委内瑞拉的干预，称马杜罗的内部安全机构由古巴人领导，他们“支持马杜罗”。

“所有帮助保护马杜罗的警卫——这是众所周知的——他们的整个间谍机构，里面全是古巴人，”鲁比奥说。

美联社记者梅根·贾内茨基（Megan Janetsky，墨西哥城）和达琳·苏珀维尔（Darlene Superville，空军一号上的记者）对本报道亦有贡献。