The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated during a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, held on Sunday, November 1, that the military operation in Venezuela in January was a "one-day war" in which "no one died." His assertion contradicts reports released by Cuba and Venezuela, whose authorities acknowledged at least 56 military casualties during the operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
“And, by the way, Venezuela: a one-day war, nobody died,” declared the president, according to the transcript of his speech on November 1, while comparing the operation to conflicts such as those in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Moments earlier, Trump stated that the United States had recouped "ten times the cost of the war" with Venezuela, a remark he made after discussing military operations against Iran. He also claimed that his administration was working with Venezuela to produce millions of barrels of oil destined for the United States. In that speech, he did not provide a breakdown to verify his economic calculation.
The documented deaths during the capture of Maduro
The U.S. operation took place in the early morning of January 3, 2026. The Cuban government acknowledged the death of 32 members of its military and security forces who were on missions in Venezuela, including personnel assigned to protect Maduro. This information is also included in the published by Havana.
On their part, Venezuelan military authorities reported at least 24 security agents deceased. The Associated Press reported a joint tally of at least 56 dead among Venezuelan and Cuban personnel. This figure reflects a minimum initially acknowledged by both governments, not the final total of victims.
A subsequent journalistic account, produced by Monitor de Víctimas and La Hora de Venezuela and published by Factchequeado, counted 77 fatalities: 42 Venezuelan military personnel, 32 Cubans, and three civilians. The investigation does not constitute an official report but expands upon the initial records of casualties.
U.S. sources did not report any military fatalities, although there were injuries. At the rally, Trump did not clarify that his statement "nobody died" referred solely to U.S. casualties.
Trump had previously acknowledged the Cuban casualties
Trump himself acknowledged on January 3 that Cubans who were protecting Maduro had died. In statements collected at that time by CiberCuba, he indicated that many members of the Cuban personnel had lost their lives during the operation.
In his speech in Iowa, Trump once again presented the capture of Maduro as a swiftly executed military success and linked the intervention to the revenue that, according to his account, the United States is gaining from Venezuelan oil.
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