CARACAS, Venezuela — At least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed during a U.S. military operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro and transported him to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges, Venezuelan officials said Tuesday.
Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said “dozens” of Venezuelan security personnel and civilians were killed during the weekend raid in Caracas, adding that prosecutors would investigate the deaths as a possible “war crime.” Saab did not clarify whether the figure referred solely to Venezuelans.
Cuba’s government has separately confirmed that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela were also killed in the operation. Havana said the personnel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, Cuba’s two main security agencies. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Monday that U.S. officials believe Cuba may be undercounting its casualties.
The U.S. has acknowledged that some of the nearly 200 American service members involved in the operation were injured, but said none were killed. The Pentagon has not released details about the injuries despite repeated inquiries.
A video tribute posted on the Venezuelan military’s Instagram account showed images of the slain officers alongside footage of damaged armored vehicles and U.S. aircraft flying over Caracas. In contrast, parts of the capital briefly saw crowds waving Venezuelan flags and attending a state-organized rally backing the government after days of largely deserted streets.
“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote, vowing to restore Maduro and dismantle what it described as foreign-backed “terrorist groups.”
Trump defends operation amid Democratic criticism
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed criticism from Democrats, arguing that there has long been bipartisan agreement that Maduro was not Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Speaking at a House Republican retreat in Washington, Trump said Democrats were failing to acknowledge what he described as a successful military operation. He noted that Maduro was indicted in the U.S. in 2020 on narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking charges and that previous administrations had also sought his arrest.
“They’ve been after this guy for years and years,” Trump said. “At some point, they should say, ‘You did a great job.’”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials briefed members of Congress late Monday amid growing concerns that the administration is pursuing a more expansionist foreign policy without clear congressional oversight.
Democratic lawmakers said the briefing offered little clarity about U.S. plans for Venezuela. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, said while Maduro was widely viewed as a “brutal dictator,” she was concerned about the absence of an exit strategy.
“We have now entered into a war where there is no known off-ramp,” Duckworth said.
Public opinion divided
A weekend poll by The Washington Post and SSRS found Americans divided over the operation. About four in 10 respondents approved of deploying U.S. forces to capture Maduro, roughly the same share opposed it, and about two in 10 were undecided.
Nearly half of respondents opposed the U.S. taking control of Venezuela or selecting a new government, while about 90 per cent said Venezuelans should determine their own leadership.
Maduro pleaded not guilty to the drug trafficking charges during a court appearance in New York on Monday. He and his wife were captured early Saturday at a compound guarded by Cuban security personnel. His deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, has since been sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president.
Regional tensions grow
In the days following Maduro’s removal, Trump and senior officials have fueled international concern by suggesting a more assertive U.S. role in the Western Hemisphere. The president has renewed calls for U.S. control of Greenland, threatened action against Colombia over cocaine trafficking, and warned that Cuba’s government is “in a lot of trouble.”
Trump has said the U.S. will now “run” Venezuela policy and press the country’s leadership to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.
Colombia’s foreign affairs minister, Rosa Villavicencio, said she will lodge a formal complaint with U.S. diplomats in Bogotá following Trump’s recent remarks about Colombia and its president.
Meanwhile, European leaders, including those from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defending Greenland’s sovereignty.
“Greenland belongs to its people,” the statement said. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”