Venezuela, Cuba hold ceremony to commemorate those killed in US attacks

Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, held a ceremony Thursday to commemorate soldiers killed Jan. 3 in US attacks on the South American nation.

The attacks resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the killing of 58 people, including 32 Cubans who were on guard duty.

The ceremony was held at the Eclectic Monument of the Military Academy of the Bolivarian National Guard in Caracas, where honor offerings, insignias and posthumous decorations were presented to the families of the officers and troops who died during the attack.

The tribute included military personnel of various ranks and civilians the Venezuelan government described as "victims of imperialist aggression."

"Our men and women who fell in combat are heroes and heroines of the homeland of Simón Bolívar, and the brothers and sisters of Cuba, sons and daughters of Martí and Fidel, are also heroes and heroines of this homeland, because as one people they fought in defense, in the face of illegal and illegitimate aggression," said President Rodriguez.

The delegation praised the 32 Cubans who were carrying out missions on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior of Cuba at the "request of counterpart institutions of" Venezuela, according to Havana.

"The blood of both peoples merged on Venezuelan soil, as befits sister nations," he said.

"The Cuban combatants, in an unequal fight, confronted the imperialist enemy that was profaning the sovereignty of the Venezuelan homeland and were protecting constitutional President Nicolás Maduro."

US President Donald Trump named Cuba among possible targets of his administration, stating Jan. 7 that the Caribbean nation "is ready to fall."