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By DÁNICA COTO and ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) — The names, ranks and ages of the 32 Cuban navy personnel killed throughout the seize of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces have been revealed Tuesday by the Cuban authorities, which introduced two days of mourning.
Among the many deceased are colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, in addition to some reserve troopers, ranging in age from 26 to 60.
The uniformed personnel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Inside, Cuba’s two primary safety businesses. The publication didn’t specify their missions or precisely how they died.
Cuban state media revealed their particulars and headshots, which present them clad in olive-green navy uniforms.
In a press release Sunday, Cuban authorities acknowledged the deaths of the personnel who have been within the South American nation as a part of agreements between the 2 international locations.
“Our compatriots fulfilled their obligation with dignity and heroism, falling after fierce resistance in direct fight in opposition to the attackers, or because of the bombing of the services,” the official assertion stated.
Restricted particulars of Cubans killed in strike
Details about the Cuban officers killed started trickling out on Monday night time, with Cubans publicly saying that they had died for a simply trigger.
“It’s a must to say that to say the identical factor as the federal government,” stated Luis Domínguez, who runs the web site, Represores Cubanos, or Cuban Repressors, which doxes officers allegedly concerned in human rights abuses and violations of democratic norms.
“Inside, Cubans need to be saying one thing else,” he added.
Domínguez stated he believes that a type of killed, 67-year-old Col. Humberto Alfonso Roca Sánchez, was the garrison commander of Punto Cero, the place Fidel Castro as soon as lived.
One other officer who was killed, 62-year-old Col. Lázaro Evangelio Rodríguez Rodríguez, is believed to have overseen Cuba’s coast and border guards, Domínguez stated.
As top-tier financial and political allies, Cuba and Venezuela have agreements in areas starting from safety to vitality, with the sale of sponsored oil to the island since 2000. Nonetheless, the extent of navy or advisory exchanges has not often been reported.
A publish revealed Monday on the impartial web site La Joven Cuba, a weblog that gives a platform for a lot of opposition voices on the island, featured a profile of 1st Lt. Yunio Estévez. It was written by a journalist who was an in depth pal. The publish included particulars of the 32-year-old’s life and featured footage together with his three youngsters, whom he had raised collectively in Guantánamo province in japanese Cuba.
La Joven Cuba report said that Estévez, a communications skilled in command of a private safety division, was shot through the assault. The publish was eliminated later that night on the household’s request, the web site reported.
A protest and a second of silence
The U.S. strike on Venezuela prompted the Group of American States to carry a particular assembly on Tuesday, the place a protester interrupted the speech of U.S. Ambassador Leandro Rizzuto.
“The vast majority of persons are in opposition to this!” cried out Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, a U.S.-based anti-war nonprofit. “Arms off Venezuela!”
She referred to as for sanctions to be lifted as OAS officers referred to as for safety guards who ultimately led her out of the room.
Rizzuto resumed his speech after Benjamin was eliminated: “I perceive there are various uncooked feelings.”
He referred to as the strike a “focused regulation enforcement motion” in opposition to an “indicted felony.”
“Let me be clear, the U.S. didn’t invade Venezuela,” Rizzuto stated. “President Trump provided Maduro a number of offramps. This was not an interference in democracy…it truly eliminated the impediment to it.”
He stated the U.S. needs a greater and democratic future for Venezuela.
“You can not proceed to have the most important oil reserves on the earth beneath the management of adversaries of the Western Hemisphere whereas the individuals of Venezuela haven’t any electrical energy, substandard high quality of life, and its income don’t profit the individuals in Venezuela,” Rizzuto stated. “The income are stolen by a handful of oligarchs world wide, together with these inside Venezuela.”
He additionally referred to as on the discharge of an estimated 1,000 political prisoners, saying the U.S. helps the request of the Inter-American Fee on Human Rights to go to the detention middle in particular person.
After Rizzuto spoke, Peruvian Ambassador Rodolfo Coronado referred to as for a minute of silence for the victims of Maduro’s regime.
Throughout the OAS assembly, representatives of a number of international locations strongly condemned the U.S. strike.
Mauricio Jaramillo, Colombia’s vice minister of overseas relations, denounced what he stated was an assault in opposition to Venezuela’s sovereignty. He stated the unilateral navy motion was a “clear violation of worldwide regulation” that set “a particularly worrying” precedent.
Earlier than the particular OAS assembly started, a couple of dozen protesters gathered outdoors holding indicators that learn, “No warfare on Venezuela” and “Arepas Not Bombs.”
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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