By Gloria Ogbonna
Cuban Minister of External Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday to attend a formal ceremony honoring 32 Cuban Communist Party agents who were killed during last week’s dramatic operation that led to the arrest of deposed Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
The event marked the most prominent public appearance by a senior Cuban communist official in Venezuela since Maduro’s removal and sent a clear signal that Havana has no intention of retreating from its long-standing influence over the country.
Rodríguez appeared alongside Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim leader (no relation), in a highly symbolic display of solidarity between the Cuban and Venezuelan communist establishments.
His presence underscored Cuba’s continued commitment to defending the remnants of the chavista power structure and honoring those who died protecting what critics describe as an illegitimate narco-dictatorship.
The ceremony was framed by Cuban and Venezuelan officials as a tribute to fallen “heroes,” but critics argue it was also a political message affirming Cuba’s determination to maintain its colonial-style dominance over Venezuela.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, often referred to as the regime’s “first combatant,” were arrested Saturday during a swift U.S. law enforcement operation that penetrated Caracas, breached Cuban-led security at the Miraflores Palace, and extracted both figures without the loss of American personnel.
The couple is expected to stand trial in the Southern District of New York, facing a sweeping list of charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to use those weapons against the United States.
The U.S. government had previously offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture, though no claimant emerged, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
While the exact number of Venezuelan casualties during the operation remains unclear, the Cuban Communist Party confirmed that it lost 32 personnel defending Maduro’s regime. In a statement published this week, Granma, the party’s official newspaper, praised the fallen agents, asserting they died “with dignity and heroism” while resisting what it called an attack on Venezuelan sovereignty.
According to the statement, the agents were killed either in direct combat or as a result of bombings targeting regime facilities.
At Thursday’s ceremony, Delcy Rodríguez presided over the commemoration as Bruno Rodríguez delivered a defiant speech portraying Cubans and Venezuelans as a single people bound by revolutionary destiny.
“The blood of both peoples was drawn on Venezuelan soil, as it should be with brotherly nations,” Rodríguez declared.
He described the Cuban agents as combatants who faced an “imperialist enemy” and accused outside forces of desecrating Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Rodríguez went further, pledging that the Cuban Communist Party would remain a decisive force in Venezuela even after Maduro’s fall.
He framed the alliance between Havana and chavismo as an enduring revolutionary project, insisting that the Cuban and Bolivarian revolutions would continue to serve as models for leftist movements across the Americas.
“We will continue our work in the defense of peace, in international mobilization, and in the struggle for the rights to life and peace of peoples,” he proclaimed.
Critics, however, argue that Cuba’s record sharply contradicts such rhetoric. The Cuban regime remains a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism and maintains close relationships with authoritarian governments and extremist organizations, including Iran, China, Hamas, and Colombia’s FARC.
Analysts say Havana’s deep involvement in Venezuela has been less about solidarity and more about control—particularly over intelligence, security, and political repression.
Delcy Rodríguez echoed the Cuban foreign minister’s praise, describing the fallen agents as “heroes of this fatherland” who fought against what she called “illegal and illegitimate aggression.” She claimed that Cuba and Venezuela are united by a shared concept of humanity and revolutionary purpose.
Her remarks were notable given her recent cooperation with the Trump administration, which President Trump has described as unexpectedly conciliatory. Trump has stated that Delcy Rodríguez has spent hours on the phone coordinating with Secretary Rubio in the aftermath of Maduro’s arrest.
Cuba’s grip on Venezuela dates back to Hugo Chávez’s presidency and expanded significantly under Maduro. According to Rubio, Maduro’s close ties to Havana cemented during years spent in Cuba were a key reason Cuban leaders backed him as Chávez’s successor.
In a 2019 interview, Rubio explained that while many figures in Maduro’s inner circle were not deeply ideological, a small group including Delcy Rodríguez, her brother Jorge Rodríguez, and Cilia Flores remained firmly committed to the Cuban-style communist model.
Rubio reiterated those concerns in a recent White House interview, emphasizing that Cuba effectively controlled Maduro’s internal security apparatus.
“It’s no mystery that we are not fans of the Cuban regime,” Rubio said, adding that Cuban operatives were instrumental in propping up Maduro’s rule. “His entire internal security force was controlled by Cubans.”
The ceremony in Caracas, therefore, was more than a memorial. It served as a political declaration—a message that despite Maduro’s arrest, Cuba intends to remain deeply embedded in Venezuela’s power structure, shaping the future of chavismo and resisting efforts by the United States and its allies to dismantle its influence in the region.
Source Breitbart
Original article
Comments