At least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the overnight US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, officials in Venezuela said on Tuesday.
Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said “dozens” of officials and civilians were killed and that prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime.”
He didn’t specify if the estimate was specifically referring to Venezuelans.
The death toll for Venezuelan security officials comes after Cuba’s government on Sunday announced that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had been killed in the operation, prompting two days of mourning on the Caribbean island.
A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram account features faces of many of those killed over black-and-white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and armoured vehicles destroyed by the blasts.
“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote in an Instagram post.
“It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”
Trump fends off criticism
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump pushed back against Democratic criticism of this weekend’s military operation on Tuesday, noting that his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had also called for the arrest of Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
Trump in remarks before a House Republican retreat in Washington grumbled that Democrats were not giving him credit for a successful military operation that led to the ouster of Maduro, even though there was bipartisan agreement that he was not the legitimate president of Venezuela.
“You know, at some point, they should say, ‘You know, you did a great job. Thank you. Congratulations.’ Wouldn’t it be good?” Trump said.
“I would say that if they did a good job, their philosophies are so different. But if they did a good job, I’d be happy for the country. They’ve been after this guy for years and years and years.”
In 2020, Maduro was indicted in the United States, accused in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
White House officials have noted that Biden’s administration in his final days in office last year raised the award for information leading to Maduro’s arrest after he assumed a third term in office despite evidence suggesting that he lost Venezuela’s most recent election.
The Trump administration doubled the award to $50 million (€42 million) in August.
Maduro pleaded not guilty to drugs charges in his first appearance in a US court on Monday, sayind, “I am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here.”
Maduro appeared alongside his wife Cilia Flores who also entered a not guilty plea on similar charges, telling the court she was “completely innocent.”
A 25-page indictment made public on Saturday accuses Maduro and others of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US. They could face life in prison if convicted.
He and his spouse have been under US sanctions for years, making it illegal for any US citizen to take money from them without first securing a licence from the Treasury Department.
While the indictment against Maduro says Venezuelan officials worked directly with the Tren de Aragua gang, a US intelligence assessment published in April, drawing on input from the intelligence community’s 18 agencies, found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Caracas regime.
The judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered both to remain behind bars and set a new hearing date of 17 March.
Additional sources • AP