January 20, 2026
Mortal remains of the Cuban combatants, Jan. 2026. X/ @EmbRusCuba
They demonstrated moral superiority and courage in defending the sovereignty of the Bolivarian nation.
On Monday, the Venezuelan National Assembly approved a resolution declaring as “national heroes and martyrs” the 32 Cuban fighters who were killed Jan. 3 during the U.S. military aggression against Bolivarian territory.
National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante said that despite the attacker’s technological disparity and air power, the fighters demonstrated “infinite moral superiority,” emphasizing the courage of those who “stood up to the invader” in defense of Venezuelan sovereignty.
Rander Peña, secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America–People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), described the fallen as “beings of light” and sent a message of solidarity to their families, saying their sacrifice will guide future struggles.
“I receive this resolution on behalf of the Cuban people, families, mothers, wives and children of the 32 comrades killed in combat against imperialism. We have reiterated to all the comrades our unbreakable commitment,” said Cuba’s ambassador to Venezuela, Jorge Mayo.
The text reads, “The Venezuelan Parliament declares the 32 brave Cuban combatants, who gave their lives in defense of Venezuela’s sovereignty, as heroes and martyrs of the Bolivarian nation.”
On Jan. 15, the remains of the 32 fallen fighters arrived at Jose Marti International Airport in Cuba, where they were received with military honors by Army Gen. Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Havana to accompany the transfer of the coffins to the headquarters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry. The following day, the Anti-Imperialist Tribune became the epicenter of a mass mobilization rejecting what the Cuban government has denounced as “a criminal act of state terrorism.”
The victims of the U.S. aggression had already been the subject of solemn ceremonies in Venezuela. On Jan. 8, Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez honored the memory of soldiers and civilians killed during the U.S. attack and led a ceremony at the Military Academy of the Bolivarian National Guard.
“Our men and women who fell in combat are heroes and heroines of the homeland of Simon Bolivar. The brothers of Cuba, sons of Marti and Fidel, are also heroes of this homeland,” she said during the event.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, U.S. forces bombed Caracas and several areas of the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, killing more than 80 civilians and military personnel, including the Cuban fighters, and wounding more than 112 others.
During the military operation, U.S. Delta Force commandos kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The presidential couple was taken to New York, where they remain illegally detained in a maximum-security prison.
Source: Telesur