Cuba has confirmed the loss of 32 of its citizens, identified as members of the nation’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, during a U.S.-led mission that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. In tribute, the Cuban government has declared two days of national mourning to honor the fallen.

The Cuban government has not disclosed the exact locations where their personnel were stationed during the operation. However, this incident has reignited scrutiny over Cuba’s longstanding and secretive involvement within Venezuela’s military and intelligence sectors, which has been documented over the years through various reports and international investigations.

According to Venezuelan political analyst Jorge Jraissati, Cuba’s role in intelligence has been vital for the consolidation of power first under Hugo Chávez and subsequently under Maduro. He explained to Fox News Digital, “Experts often view Cuba as the primary intelligence provider for Venezuela, assisting in matters such as election management, diplomatic relations, and maintaining control over security forces, among other areas.”

In Havana, supporters of Nicolás Maduro gathered on January 3, 2026, waving both the Venezuelan and Cuban national flags, following the U.S. military’s capture of Maduro. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had successfully apprehended the Venezuelan leader after strategic bombings in Caracas and other cities, marking the peak of a prolonged standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan adversary.

Jraissati emphasized that any political transition in Venezuela would necessitate collaboration between the American government and the Venezuelan populace to diminish Cuba’s influence over Venezuela’s governmental structures and broader society.

A Reuters investigation published in August 2019 found that two confidential agreements signed in 2008 granted Cuba sweeping access to Venezuela’s armed forces and intelligence services. Under those agreements, Cuban officials were authorized to train Venezuelan troops, restructure intelligence agencies and help build an internal surveillance system focused on monitoring Venezuela’s own military, according to the report.

Those arrangements played a central role in transforming Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency — the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) — into a force designed to detect dissent, instill fear within the ranks and ensure loyalty to the government, the investigation found.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, right, greets Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba’s president, during the 23rd States of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) Summit at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The alliance of leftist countries in the region are meeting to reject the US’s reimposed oil sanctions on Venezuela, ending a six-month reprieve for the Maduro regime. 

The findings were later echoed by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which said it reviewed a 2008 memorandum of understanding between Cuba and Venezuela. The U.N. mission reported that the agreement provided for Cuban advisory oversight in the restructuring of Venezuelan military intelligence, including the creation of new agencies, training of counterintelligence officers and assistance with surveillance and infiltration techniques.

Former Venezuelan officials cited by Havana Times and El Toque have described Cuban advisers embedded across some of the country’s most sensitive institutions, including the civilian intelligence service SEBIN, DGCIM, the defense ministry, ports and airports and Venezuela’s national identification system.

Human rights organizations and international investigators say those structures were central to the government’s response to mass protests in 2014 and 2017, when Venezuelan security forces carried out widespread arrests and deadly crackdowns on demonstrators.

The U.N. fact-finding mission documented patterns of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention and torture, and reported that Cuban advisers helped train Venezuelan personnel in methods used to track, interrogate and repress political opponents.

Experts say Cuba’s admission that its military and intelligence personnel were killed during a U.S. operation inside Venezuela has sharpened focus on the alliance’s true depth, turning years of documentation into an immediate geopolitical issue.