Cuba repatriates 32 officers killed in Venezuela raid as US tensions mount

The repatriation deepened an already severe rupture between Havana and Washington: President Donald Trump has demanded Cuba make a deal before it is “too late” and has signaled it would cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba — a potential blow that experts said could be catastrophic for a country already suffering widespread blackouts.

HAVANA — White-gloved Cuban soldiers carried urns containing the remains of 32 military officers into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces in Havana on Thursday, completing a repatriation that the Cuban government marked as one of the most significant mass funerals on the island in half a century.

The officers were killed on Jan. 3 during a U.S. raid on the Caracas residence of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was seized and transported to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. The 32 personnel, ranging in age from 26 to 60, were part of Maduro’s security detail under protection agreements between Cuba and Venezuela, Cuban officials said.

The ceremony unfolded as Cuba remained under threat from the Trump administration, which has demanded the island make a deal before it is “too late” and has signaled it would end Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba — a potential blow that experts said could be catastrophic for a country already experiencing serious blackouts and a deteriorating power grid.

Tens of thousands of Cubans lined streets as motorcycles and military vehicles carried the remains through Havana. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb, stood alongside former President Raúl Castro at the airport, with what appeared to be relatives of the slain looking on nearby.

Col. Pedro Yadín Domínguez, who had arrived from Venezuela the previous night, attended the ceremony in a wheelchair. He described what occurred as a “disproportionate attack” that killed 11 colleagues around him as they slept, and said he remained committed to doing “whatever it takes to defend this people and to remain united in the face of threats from the United States.”

State television also showed images of what it said were more than a dozen wounded combatants from the raid, who arrived Wednesday night from Venezuela with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of an anti-imperialist struggle spanning both Cuba and Venezuela. He said an adversary speaks of “high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” while Cuba speaks of “faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”

Álvarez Casas said the events demonstrate that “imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people.”

Carlos Alzugaray, an analyst and former diplomat, told the Associated Press that “people are upset and hurt … many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States.

Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer who was among those lining the streets, said of the fallen officers: “They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them. It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

Cuban officials said they expected a large demonstration Friday near the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.

A rare mass ceremony

Thursday’s funeral was among only a handful of such observances Cuba has organized in the past half-century. In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a mass demonstration to mourn the 73 people killed in the bombing of a civilian aircraft financed by anti-revolutionary leaders. In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony for the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

Aid dispute compounds tensions

The repatriation came a day after the United States announced $3 million in additional aid to help Cuba recover from Hurricane Melissa, with a first supply flight departing Wednesday and a second scheduled for Friday.

The announcement triggered a parallel dispute over distribution. U.S. State Department foreign assistance official Jeremy Lewin said Thursday that the U.S. was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church to deliver supplies directly to the Cuban people, as part of Washington’s efforts to bypass the government.

“There’s nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,” Lewin said, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. “We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.”

Lewin said the Cuban government should “Step down or better provide towards people,” and added that if there were no government in place, the U.S. would provide “billions and billions of dollars” in assistance and investment.

Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister, said the U.S. government was “exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”

Cuba had said Wednesday that any contributions would be channeled through the government.