US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that “many” Cubans had been killed during an operation by US special forces in Venezuela. He did not specify the exact number. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“Many Cubans lost their lives. They protected (Venezuelan President Nicolás) Maduro. It was not a good decision,” said the head of the White House in an interview with The New York Post after a press conference where he spoke about the US operation in Venezuela. During it US forces have captured President Maduro and his wife, and taken them to the US, where they will be prosecuted on “narco-terrorism” charges.
The US and Venezuela have not yet released the number of victims of the US operation, but Trump claims that no Americans have died. “Cuba has always been very dependent on Venezuela. It’s been getting money from there and protecting Venezuela, but that didn’t work very well in this case.” Trump said.
At the aforementioned press conference, the US Minister of Foreign Affairs Marco Rubio, who is the US-born son of Cuban immigrants, declared that “when the president speaks, he should be taken seriously.” “If I lived in Havana and was a member of the government, I would be at least a little worried,” he added, according to Sky News.
Trump told The New York Post that he is not considering military action against Cuba, which is suffering from an economic crisis. “No, Cuba will fall of its own accord. Cuba is not doing very well,” he stated.
AFP reports that Cuba and Venezuela are close allies and both countries are subject to US sanctions. For decades, Cuba has been heavily dependent on Venezuela for economic support and fuel. US media say Maduro has been “heavily dependent” on advisers and security from Cuba.
