A Cuban soldier who was in Venezuela during the operation on January 3, which ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro, recounted the moment he had to pick up the bodies of his fallen comrades after the attack.
"There was no support from anyone for that, but no body was left in the field," declared Yohandris Varona Torres to the Camagüeyan newspaper Adelante, adding that they preserved them in their own dormitory. "I can't explain the pain. But at least no one was left behind in Venezuela," he noted.
Varona, a native of Vertientes, had been participating in a mission in the South American country for just over two months when the attack occurred, along with the subsequent extraction of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores by elements of the Delta Force, one of the most secretive and deadly units of the U.S. Army, specialized in counterterrorism and high-value target capture.
According to their testimony, the group was caught off guard while on duty and had to respond with clearly inferior weaponry.
"I saw them all fall and I carried all of them," the military officer stated in a narrative that aligns with recent statements from Colonel Pedro Yadín Domínguez, who was injured during the same operation and acknowledged on state television that the Cuban military personnel were in Venezuela performing functions in support of presidential security.
Domínguez described the attack as "completely disproportionate" and noted the use of aircraft, drones, and helicopters against a group with limited weaponry.
Following the operation, official media have begun to circulate testimonies from survivors and tributes to the deceased Cubans. In his statements, Varona affirmed that the experience marked the most intense moment of his over two decades of service and reiterated his willingness to continue carrying out the orders of the Cuban state.
The published stories reveal the human cost of a presence that was officially denied for years and is now manifested through the pain of those who were there, beyond the speeches and slogans.
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