Several days after the US attack on Venezuela, the official number of dead and wounded is still unknown. Although attempts have been made to portray the attack as “swift and clean”, the truth is that the death toll reflects an incursion in which dozens of people were killed in just 140 minutes, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate. Nearly 150 aircraft participated in the attack, destroying Venezuela’s air defense system and killing dozens of military personnel and civilians.

According to a senior official quoted by the New York Times, the death toll stands at nearly 80 people during the operation called “Absolute Determination”, whose main objective was to take Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as prisoners.

During the operation, Vladimir Padrino, Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, reported that most of the security ring protecting the Venezuelan president had been “neutralized”. The newspaper La Nación has reported that unofficial sources have said that most of the dead belonged to the 6th Presidential Security Battalion, which included young soldiers of various ranks: lieutenants, corporals, honor guards, and sergeants were killed in a matter of minutes before US elite troops forcibly took Maduro and Flores away.

For its part, the Venezuelan Doctors’ Network reported on January 3, the day of the attack, that nearly a hundred wounded were being treated after US gunfire and missile strikes on South American territory. This figure, it was reported, could increase significantly once the final toll of wounded and dead civilians is known.

One of the civilians who died in Miranda State during the attack was 45-year-old Colombian Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, who was a self-employed trader and had nothing to do with politics or the military. Rodríguez, who was a single mother, leaves behind three orphaned children. She was killed by a missile during the bombing of television and telecommunications antennas that the US military destroyed.

A relative of Rodríguez said: “They lived alone in that country and we always kept in touch. When the missile hit, Ana, [Yohana’s daughter], who was injured, picked up a cell phone and called us. She said, ‘They’re killing us, they killed my mom, I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t think we’ll see each other again’.”

Dozens of Cubans killed

For its part, the government in Havana informed that 32 Cubans died during the January 3 attack. According to the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Cuban soldiers died during clashes with US troops while carrying out security operations previously agreed upon with the government in Caracas.

“As a result of the criminal attack perpetrated by the United States government against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the early hours of January 3, 2026, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combat while carrying out missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart agencies in the South American country,” reported the newspaper Cuba Debate.

In addition, the newspaper reported that the soldiers died fighting against US forces or as a result of the bombing of Venezuelan military installations. “Once their identities had been verified, the families of our fallen comrades were informed and received heartfelt condolences and support from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, and from the first secretary of the Party Central Committee and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, as well as from the heads of both ministries.”

In light of this situation, the Cuban government has declared two days of national mourning. For its part, the Venezuelan government has recognized the actions of the Cuban soldiers during the US attack. In an official statement, Caracas reported: “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela pays tribute to the 32 Cuban combatants who gave their lives in the line of duty … They were acting within the framework of cooperation between sovereign states and were carrying out tasks of protection and institutional defense. Their actions were distinguished by their courage, discipline, and unwavering commitment to peace and regional stability.”

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