Venezuela/ New Delhi, Jan. 6 -- US forces killed at least 55 Venezuelan and Cuban military personnel during a weekend operation that led to the capture and removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, according to casualty figures released Tuesday by Caracas and Havana.
In its first public acknowledgement of losses, Venezuela's armed forces said 23 service members were killed in attacks carried out by the United States on Saturday. Authorities in Caracas did not provide an official count of civilian casualties.
Cuba separately confirmed that 32 of its armed forces and interior ministry personnel assigned to duties in Caracas died in the raids. Havana released details showing the dead ranged in age from 26 to 67 and included two colonels and one lieutenant colonel.
Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said many of the Cuban casualties were believed to be part of Maduro's security detail, which he said was largely destroyed during the operation.
Officials said the assault began with bombing strikes on military targets and concluded with US special forces arriving by helicopter to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a secure compound. The couple were subsequently transferred to New York, where they appeared in court on Monday and entered not guilty pleas to drug trafficking and other charges.
Reacting to the developments, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday urged Washington to ensure that Maduro receives what she described as a "fair trial".with agency inpu
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.