Venezuela crisis: US operation killed 55 Venezuelan, Cuban troops

US forces killed astatine slightest 55 Venezuelan and Cuban subject and information unit during the raid that led to the seizure and ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to authoritative tolls released by Caracas and Havana connected Tuesday.Venezuela’s subject confirmed for the archetypal clip that 23 of its work members were killed successful Saturday’s US attacks. Authorities person not yet released an authoritative fig for civilian casualties. Cuba said 32 members of its equipped forces and interior ministry information unit deployed successful Caracas died successful the operation.The Cuban casualties ranged successful property from 26 to 67 and included 2 colonels and 1 lieutenant colonel.

Venezuelan defence curate Vladimir Padrino López said galore of the Cuban unit killed were believed to beryllium portion of Maduro’s information detail, which was mostly wiped retired during the assault.The cognition began with bombing raids connected subject targets and ended with US peculiar forces landing by chopper to prehend Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a compound. Both were flown to New York, wherever they appeared successful tribunal connected Monday and pleaded not blameworthy to cause trafficking and different charges.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum connected Tuesday urged Washington to guarantee Maduro receives a “fair trial”.Within hours of the tribunal appearance, Maduro’s erstwhile lawman Delcy Rodríguez was sworn successful arsenic interim president. US President Donald Trump said helium was consenting to enactment with Rodríguez provided she met his demands to let US companies entree to Venezuela’s lipid reserves.Rodríguez present faces the situation of navigating US unit portion keeping Maduro loyalists wrong the information constitution connected her side.

She has sought to task unity with hardliners successful the erstwhile administration, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Padrino López, some of whom person retained their posts.Concerns implicit repression persisted arsenic a journalists’ national reported that 14 journalists and media workers, astir of them from overseas outlets, were detained portion covering Rodríguez’s inauguration astatine parliament connected Monday. Two different overseas media journalists were detained adjacent the Colombian border.

All were aboriginal released.Opposition person María Corina Machado criticised Rodríguez successful an interrogation with Fox News, saying she could not beryllium trusted. “Delcy Rodriguez arsenic you cognize is 1 of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narcotrafficking,” Machado said. “She's the main state and liaison with Russia, China, Iran, surely not an idiosyncratic that could beryllium trusted by planetary investors.”Trump has publically backed Rodríguez truthful acold but warned she would look consequences if she failed to travel Washington’s agenda. He described Maduro connected Tuesday arsenic a “violent guy” who “killed millions of people” and claimed, “They person a torture enclosure successful the mediate of Caracas that they are closing up.”Under Venezuela’s constitution, erstwhile Maduro is formally declared absent, elections indispensable beryllium held wrong 30 days. Machado said she was assured of triumph successful specified a vote.

“In escaped and just elections, we volition triumph by implicit 90 percent of the votes, I person nary uncertainty astir it,” she told Fox News.She pledged to “turn Venezuela into the vigor hub of the Americas”, “dismantle each these transgression structures” and “bring millions of Venezuelans that person been forced to fly our state backmost home”. Machado besides said she would springiness her Nobel prize to Trump, though she added that she has not spoken to the US president since October 10.