HAVANA, Cuba Jan 6 – Cuba’s Revolutionary Government has confirmed that 32 Cuban nationals were killed in combat during a US military attack on Venezuela carried out on January 3, 2026, describing the operation as a criminal act of aggression and state terrorism.
In a statement released Monday, the Cuban government said the deceased were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, who were deployed in Venezuela at the request of the country’s authorities and were performing security and defense-related missions.
“As a result of the criminal attack perpetrated by the United States government against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combat actions,” the statement said.
The government said the fighters “fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism,” falling either in direct combat against US forces or as a result of bombardments of military facilities.
Cuban authorities confirmed that the identities of all those killed have been verified and that their families have been formally notified. Condolences were conveyed by General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, as well as President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who is also First Secretary of the Communist Party.
Senior officials from both the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior also expressed solidarity with the families of the fallen.
The statement said the fighters were victims of “a new criminal act of aggression and state terrorism,” adding that their actions symbolized the internationalist solidarity of the Cuban people.
“The Revolutionary Government will organize the corresponding actions to pay them the deserved tribute,” the statement concluded.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions following the US military operation that led to the arrest and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, further escalating diplomatic and security concerns across Latin America.
