The Cuban government confirmed that 32 of its citizens, all members of the armed forces and intelligence services, were killed in the U.S. operation.
The Nigeria Movement of Solidarity With Cuba (NMSC), a coalition of labour centres, pro-people civil society organisations and intellectuals, has condemned the United States’ military action in Venezuela that led to the deaths of 32 Cuban nationals, describing the incident as an injustice and a violation of international law.
In a statement issued on January 10, signed by Owei Lakemfa, the NMSC said it stood in “deep condolence” with the Cuban people following the deaths of the Cuban personnel who were reportedly killed during the U.S. raid in Caracas on January 3, which also resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
The Cuban government confirmed that 32 of its citizens, all members of the armed forces and intelligence services, were killed in the U.S. operation.
“We condole with the families of those killed in Venezuela and pray that the souls of the Cuban 32 rest in power,” the Nigerian movement said in the statement, hailing the fallen as individuals who “preferred to fight and die” rather than surrender in the face of superior force.
The NMSC described the U.S. action as part of a broader pattern of military aggression that violates the United Nations Charter and undermines the sovereignty of nations.
The group called on the U.S. government to release President Maduro and his wife, respect international laws, and cease its “invasion of countries and territories.”
Cuba, a long-time ally of Venezuela, has declared days of national mourning to honour the 32 Cubans killed, praising them for their “dignity and heroism” while defending Venezuelan soil.
Havana also accused the United States of perpetrating a “criminal act of aggression and state terrorism.”
In its statement, the Nigerian coalition drew on Cuba’s history of internationalist support, citing past Cuban contributions in global conflicts and humanitarian efforts, including medical missions during the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidence of the island nation’s commitment to global solidarity.
The statement partly read: "In line with their culture and honour, even when overwhelmed with the superior firepower of 150 invading aircraft and United States soldiers, the Cubans preferred to fight and die rather than surrender and give up President Maduro. This is in line with the admonition of Mexican humanist Emiliano Zapata who said: “It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.”
"The Cubans had showed same exceptional courage when during the 1983 invasion of tiny Grenada by the USA and six other countries, Cuban construction workers building the Point Salines airport refused to surrender. The invaders murdered twenty five of the Cuban workers, injured 59 and captured 683.
"This unmatchable sense of duty and honour was also displayed by the Cubans when in 1988 they fought in Africa to free the continent from the forces of Apartheid backed by the Western powers including the US, and United Kingdom.
"Thousands of Cuban youths sacrificed their precious lives to liberate Angola, Namibia and South Africa from apartheid. Beyond armed conflicts, the Cubans sense of duty to other humans is evident in the thousands of doctors and medical workers they had sent around the world including Nigeria.
"During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Cuba was the only country that refused to shut its borders to the outside world. Rather, it took in 682 passengers from the British cruise ship, MS Braemer which had been hit by the coronavirus and was adrift in the Caribbean. It also sent over 3,700 medical personnel to assist 46 countries battle the virus," the statement read.
The NMSC also reiterated its support for repeated United Nations General Assembly resolutions urging the United States to lift its longstanding economic embargo against Cuba, a measure that has been approved by the Assembly for more than three decades.
The group extended that demand to include sanctions on Venezuela, calling for an end to unilateral punitive measures that it said inflict hardship on ordinary people.
“Humanity deserves peace, progress and development, not a cycle of conflicts, retrogression and general underdevelopment,” the statement said.
The U.S. military raid and capture of Maduro have sparked widespread international condemnation from solidarity groups, labour organisations and political movements around the world, with critics labelling the operation a breach of Venezuela’s sovereignty and international law.