UPDATE (9:20 p.m. EDT, Sunday): The Cuban government has claimed that the American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend. A statement on Cuban state TV on Sunday night said that the Cuban military and police officers were on a mission that the Caribbean country’s military was carrying out at the request of Venezuela’s government. Cuba’s government has announced two days of mourning.
At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early Saturday, January 3, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official, The New York Times reported. US President Donald Trump said while speaking on Fox News that no American troops were killed. However, he suggested that some service members had been injured.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago with Trump that US helicopters moving to extract Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had come under fire. He said the helicopter was hit but “remained flyable,” and that all US aircraft “came home.”
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{{/usCountry}}The overall operation to capture Maduro resulted in about half a dozen soldiers being injured, two US officials confirmed, per the outlet.
The New York Times report said that among those killed in the unrest was a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport. An airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment complex, knocking out an exterior wall early, during US forces’ attack on the city.
The strike resulted in the death of Rosa González, 80, her family said. Another person was seriously wounded.
Residents said that four men tried to rescue González, carrying her onto a motorbike and taking her to a hospital. However, she was declared dead on arrival.
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Another woman was rushed to the hospital too. Residents were later told that she survived, but was in critical condition.
Nicolás Maduro’s capture
Maduro and his wife landed in New York Saturday afternoon, January 3, to face federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. The Venezuelan President has denied the allegations.
Trump has announced that the US is "going to run the country" until there is a "safe, proper and judicious transition" of power in Venezuela, according to CBS News. The US President told reporters last month that it would be "smart" for Maduro to leave power, but "it's up to him what he wants to do."