Cuba Releases Details of Dead Officers 01/07 06:05

   

   HAVANA (AP) -- The names, ranks and ages of the 32 Cuban military personnel 
killed during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro by U.S. 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.

   On Tuesday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodrguez said that Cubans were 
"prepared to give their lives" against any U.S. intervention as the island 
pondered a future without Maduro as Venezuela's leader.

   "The U.S. president, displaying a complete lack of understanding about Cuba 
and repeating the agenda of lies of Cuban-American politicians and other 
interest groups, blasphemes against and threatens our people," Rodrguez wrote 
on X. "Our valiant people, true to their history of struggle, will defend their 
nation against any imperialist aggression."

   In a statement Sunday, Cuban authorities had 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 
Domnguez, 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.

   Domnguez said he believes that one of those killed, 67-year-old Col. 
Humberto Alfonso Roca Snchez, used to be the garrison commander of Punto Cero, 
where Fidel Castro once lived.

   Another officer who was killed, 62-year-old Col. Lzaro Evangelio Rodrguez 
Rodrguez, is believed to have overseen Cuba's coast and border guards, 
Domnguez said.

   As top-tier economic and political allies, Cuba and Venezuela have 
agreements in areas ranging from security to energy, with the sale of 
subsidized 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 Estvez. 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 Guantnamo 
province in eastern Cuba.

   La Joven Cuba report stated that Estvez, 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.

   A protest and a moment of silence

   The U.S. strike on Venezuela prompted the Organization of American States to 
hold a special meeting on Tuesday, where a protester interrupted the speech of 
U.S. Ambassador Leandro Rizzuto.

   "The majority of people are against this!" cried out Medea Benjamin, 
co-founder of Code Pink, a U.S.-based anti-war nonprofit. "Hands off Venezuela!"

   She called for sanctions to be lifted as OAS officials called for security 
guards who eventually led her out of the room.

   Rizzuto resumed his speech after Benjamin was removed: "I understand there 
are many raw emotions."

   He called the strike a "targeted law enforcement action" against an 
"indicted criminal."

   "Let me be clear, the U.S. did not invade Venezuela," Rizzuto said. 
"President Trump offered Maduro multiple offramps. This was not an interference 
in democracy...it actually removed the obstacle to it."

   He said the U.S. wants a better and democratic future for Venezuela.

   "You cannot continue to have the largest oil reserves in the world under the 
control of adversaries of the Western Hemisphere while the people of Venezuela 
have no electricity, substandard quality of life, and its profits don't benefit 
the people in Venezuela," Rizzuto said. "The profits are stolen by a handful of 
oligarchs around the world, including those inside of Venezuela."

   He also called on the release of an estimated 1,000 political prisoners, 
saying the U.S. supports the request of the Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights to visit the detention center in person.

   After Rizzuto spoke, Peruvian Ambassador Rodolfo Coronado called for a 
minute of silence for the victims of Maduro's regime.

   During the OAS meeting, representatives of several countries strongly 
condemned the U.S. strike.

   Mauricio Jaramillo, Colombia's vice minister of foreign relations, denounced 
what he said was an attack against Venezuela's sovereignty. He said the 
unilateral military action was a "clear violation of international law" that 
set "an extremely worrying" precedent.

   Before the special OAS meeting began, about a dozen protesters gathered 
outside holding signs that read, "No war on Venezuela" and "Arepas Not Bombs."