HAVANA: Cuba received on Thursday the remains of its 32 soldiers killed in combat during the US attack on Venezuela and stunning capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, paying homage to the troops as national “heroes.”

The remains of the soldiers, members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, arrived early on Thursday at Havana’s international airport, in caskets draped in the Cuban flag.

Cuba has provided some security for Maduro since he came to power. It was not clear how many of the fallen Cubans were guarding the Venezuelan president when they died, or how many may have perished elsewhere.

The communist government of Cuba earlier this month said 32 of its citizens had died during the U.S. raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas. A military band in white uniforms played the Cuban national anthem on the tarmac during a ceremony overseen by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 94-year-old former leader Raul Castro and top military officials.

General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez said the fallen troops represented Cuba’s unwavering commitment to its homeland and allies.

“If this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess the most sophisticated weapons, may impose immense material wealth, 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.

A motorcade later transferred the bodies to the armed forces ministry along one of the capital’s main boulevards, lined by thousands paying their respects, waving flags and saluting.

Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores were seized by US forces in Caracas on Jan 3 and flown to the United States. Maduro is being held in a New York detention center on drug charges.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2026