By Dave Sherwood
HAVANA, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Cuba received on Thursday the remains of its 32 soldiers killed in combat during the U.S. attack on Venezuela and stunning capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, paying homage to the troops as national “heroes.”
The remains of the soldiers, members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, arrived early on Thursday at Havana’s international airport, in caskets draped in the Cuban flag.
Cuba has provided some security for Maduro since he came to power. It was not clear how many of the fallen Cubans were guarding the Venezuelan president when they died, or how many may have perished elsewhere.
The communist government of Cuba earlier this month said 32 of its citizens had died during the U.S. raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
A military band in white uniforms played the Cuban national anthem on the tarmac during a ceremony overseen by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 94-year-old former leader Raul Castro and top military officials.
General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez said the fallen troops represented Cuba’s unwavering commitment to its homeland and allies.
TENSIONS SPIRAL BETWEEN US, CUBA THIS WEEK
“If this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess the most sophisticated weapons, may impose immense material wealth, 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,” he said.
A motorcade later transferred the bodies to the armed forces ministry along one of the capital’s main boulevards, lined by thousands paying their respects, waving flags and saluting.
Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores were seized by U.S. forces in Caracas on Saturday and flown to the United States. Maduro is being held in a New York detention center on drug charges.
Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba spiraled this week after U.S. President Donald Trump told Cuba he would cut off Venezuelan oil and money from reaching the island, warning Havana to make a deal before it’s “too late.”
Trump’s comment prompted a defiant response from Diaz-Canel, who said Cuba would defend its homeland “to the last drop of blood.”
Cuba has planned a march on Friday in front of the U.S. embassy to protest U.S. aggression in Venezuela.
(Reporting by Dave Sherwood, additional reporting by Nelson Acosta and Alien Fernandez; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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