The Cuban authorities informed the family of Adriel Adrián Socarrás Tamayo, captain of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), who passed away in Venezuela, that it will not be possible to repatriate or hand over his remains due to the war situation in that country.
The officer, 32 years old, was identified as one of the 32 Cuban soldiers killed during the events related to the capture of Nicolás Maduro that took place on January 3rd.
Military sources and officials from the Communist Party in the municipality of Yara, in Granma, where part of the family resides, reported that the inability to return the body is due to operational limitations at the airports and the wartime context.
However, relatives stated that they have not received precise information regarding the circumstances of the death nor direct confirmation that the body is in official custody.
"In reality, no one has put a bell on the cat, nor has anyone said 'the body is in our hands, they died this way, they died that way.' We still do not have clarity on that," a relative stated to Martí Noticias.
Socarrás Tamayo, a native of Yara, belonged to a military unit from Matanzas, where he lived with his wife and two children.
The head of that unit also contacted the family to confirm the death and assured them that the captain was part of Nicolás Maduro's security detail.
"They died shot by shot, according to him," clarified the interviewed family member.
The officer had been deployed in Venezuela for two years, although his acquaintances were unaware that he was part of the dictator's direct security detail.
From Caracas, he regularly sent money to his mother and wife through bank transfers. His last vacation in Cuba was last year.
After receiving the official notification, the family members noticed that the officer's mobile phone was still ringing, which caused uncertainty.
However, the military commanders ruled out any possibility that he was still alive. "They have already confirmed to us that he died in combat. He was there in the cordon where Maduro was," stated the relative.
In the days following the operation that culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the Cuban regime made public the identities of the 32 Cubans who died during the United States' attack on Venezuela.
The disclosure included the photos and names of the officers.
The combatants, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and MININT, were described as personnel who "carried out missions at the request of counterpart agencies in Venezuela," which constituted an official acknowledgment of the Cuban military presence in the Andean country, a reality that Havana had denied for years.
The list included high-ranking officers, captains, lieutenants, and soldiers aged between 26 and 67 years, among them two colonels and three majors.
The names were released along with official portraits, marking the first public acknowledgment of the scale of the casualties.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, Cubans "fell in direct combat or as a result of bombings" and were presented as "heroes."
The official record lists the name of Captain Adriel Adrián Socarrás Tamayo, confirming his inclusion among the deceased.
The publication came a day after the national mourning decree signed by Miguel Díaz-Canel, which established two days of mourning and suspended festive activities throughout the country, marking a significant shift in the regime's previous discourse regarding its role in Venezuela.
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