Remains of 32 Cuban officers killed during strike on Venezuela repatriated as US threat lingers

HAVANA — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana's most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those killed. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urns or holding their hand over their heart, many of them drenched from standing outside in a heavy downpour.

Thursday's mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.

Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people described as ''combatants'' accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.

Those injured and the remains of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and the U.S., with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is ''too late.'' He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a ''natural extension of their homeland.''

''The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,'' Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. ''We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.''

Álvarez called those slain ''heroes,'' saying that they were an example of honor and ''a lesson for those who waver.''

''We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,'' he said.

''They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,'' said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.

When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, ''It's because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.''

‘People are upset and hurt'

Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island's two security agencies.

Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

''People are upset and hurt. There's a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs'' of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

The first mass funeral in decades

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.

In December 1989, officials organized ''Operation Tribute'' to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba's participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived four years in Venezuela.

Cuba riled by US aid for hurricane recovery

A day before the remains of those killed arrived in Cuba, the U.S. announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa.

The first flight took off on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

Jeremy Lewin, the State Department official in charge of foreign assistance, said the U.S. was working with Cuba's Catholic Church to distribute aid.

''There's nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,'' he said Thursday, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. ''We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.''

He said the U.S. hopes that delivering aid via the Catholic Church will be part of a new and broader push to deliver assistance directly to the Cuban people.

''Ultimately, the regime has to make a choice," Lewin said. ''Step down or better provide towards people.''

Lewin added that ''if there was no regime,'' the U.S. would provide ''billions and billions of dollars'' in assistance, as well as investment and development: ''That's what lies on the other side of the regime for the Cuban people.''

The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

''The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,'' he said in a statement. ''As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.''

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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