The release of the official list containing the names and faces of the 32 Cuban soldiers who died in Venezuela during the capture of Nicolás Maduro, disseminated by the regime in Havana through state media and replicated by CiberCuba Noticias, sparked a wave of reactions on social media, characterized by outrage, sarcasm, and grief.
The post reached over 30,000 views and hundreds of comments in just a few hours, becoming one of the most discussed topics since the Cuban regime first acknowledged the presence of troops on Venezuelan territory.
A significant portion of the comments pointed to the hypocrisy of the regime, which for years categorically denied its military presence in Venezuela.
“They denied it enough, and now they publish their photos in uniform and rank,” wrote a user, while another remarked sarcastically: “According to Bruno Rodríguez, there were no Cuban soldiers in Venezuela; now there are 32 dead. How is that explained?”
Others harshly criticized the mercenary nature of the mission: “The Cuban government does not send soldiers out of principle; they sell them. They died defending Maduro, not Cuba”, wrote a commentator, who described the event as “human trafficking in uniform”.
The tone of many messages was openly hostile. "Thirty-two snitches less," wrote one user; "God is just, the same ones who beat the people on July 11th died," added another. Several compared the operation to a settling of scores: "They sent them to die; they knew too much."
However, there were also voices that called for respect. “They were human beings, Cubans with families; in moments like this, one must show compassion”, a woman from Havana pointed out. Others lamented that young people were sent to “die for a country that was not theirs”.
The most shared comment was from historian Jorge L. León, who described it as “indecent” to call the fallen heroes: “They did not die for the homeland or for sovereignty, they died defending a foreign dictator. That is not heroism; it is mercenarism imposed by hunger”, he wrote.
There was also room for mockery and disappointment. "I thought they were young, but they look like they came out of a nursing home", joked an internet user. Another summarized the general sentiment: "The lie backfired on them. For years they talked about doctors; today they are showing colonels."
The official announcement, far from unifying the country, reignited divisions between those who defend "internationalist solidarity" and those who see these events as definitive proof that Havana uses the lives of its citizens as bargaining chips.
While the regime tries to glorify the deaths, the outrage on social media reveals an opposing narrative: that of a people who no longer believe in the symbols of a worn-out revolutionary epic.
As a commentator wrote: “They died as victims of a system that impoverished them, deceived them, and sacrificed them. And that is what the government will never acknowledge”.
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