HAVANA: Cuba paid tribute on Thursday to 32 soldiers killed in the US military strike that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in a ceremony attended by revolutionary leader Raul Castro.
Havana, under pressure from US President Donald Trump, had decreed two days of tribute for the men, some of whom had been assigned to Maduro’s protection team.
Twenty-one of the soldiers were from the Cuban interior ministry, which oversees the intelligence services, officials have said. The others were from the military.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Castro, the 94-year-old retired former Cuban leader, were present in full military uniform to receive the soldiers’ remains early Thursday.
Their urns, draped in Cuban flags, were unloaded from a plane at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport, according to footage broadcast on state TV.
At the event, Interior Minister General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez expressed the country’s respect and gratitude for the soldiers he said had “fought to the last bullet” during US bombings and a raid by US special forces who seized Maduro and his wife from their Caracas residence on January 3.
“We do not receive them with resignation; we do so with profound pride,” the minister added, and said the United States “will never be able to buy the dignity of the Cuban people.”
The soldiers’ bodies were then transported in Jeeps to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, with Cubans lining the streets and applauding the procession.
Residents of the capital can pay their respects throughout the day, which will close with a gathering outside the US embassy in Havana.
‘Manipulation’
The homage serves as an opportunity for Cuba to make a display of national unity at a time it is batting away pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Trump on Sunday urged Cuba to “make a deal,” the nature of which he did not divulge, or face the consequences.
The Republican president, who says Washington is now effectively running Venezuela, has vowed to cut off all oil and money that Caracas had been providing to ailing Cuba.
Cuba, which is struggling through its worst economic crisis in decades, has reacted defiantly to the US threats even as it reels from the loss of a key source of economic support.
Havana has dismissed as “political manipulation” a US announcement of humanitarian aid for victims of Hurricane Melissa, which hit last October and killed nearly 60 people across the Caribbean.
“The US government is exploiting what might seem like a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic purposes and political manipulation,” Cuba’s foreign ministry said in a statement in response.
It added Washington had not been in touch about the delivery, which it would welcome “without conditions.”
Jeremy Lewin, the senior US official for foreign assistance, on Thursday cautioned Havana not to “politicize” the help.
“We look at this as the first, the beginning of what we hope will be a much broader ability to deliver assistance directly to the Cuban people,” he said.
US-Cuba relations have been tense for decades but hit a new low after the US capture of Maduro and his wife.
Twenty-three Venezuelan soldiers were also killed in the US strike that saw Maduro and his wife whisked away to stand trial in New York on drug-trafficking charges.
![]()
Cuba pays tribute to soldiers killed in Maduro capture
Short Url
https://arab.news/j2gvy
Cuba pays tribute to soldiers killed in Maduro capture
- President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Castro, the 94-year-old retired former Cuban leader, were present in full military uniform to receive the soldiers’ remains
- Twenty-three Venezuelan soldiers were also killed in the US strike that saw Maduro and his wife whisked away to stand trial in New York
Long-delayed decision due on Chinese mega-embassy in London
LONDON: The UK government is Tuesday due to rule on plans for a sprawling Chinese mega-embassy in central London, amid security concerns and ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s expected visit to China.
Beijing’s proposal for a new embassy on the historic site of the former Royal Mint — a stone’s throw from the Tower of London — has been dogged by delays since China bought it in 2018.
If the relocation from its current site in London’s upmarket Marylebone area is approved, it would be the largest embassy complex in the UK by area, and one of the largest embassies in the heart of a Western capital.
But the move has faced fierce opposition from residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party who fear the site could be used to surveil and harass dissidents.
The embassy proposal has proved to be particularly sensitive domestically, and appears to be a sticking point in bilateral ties as well.
The UK’s plans to redevelop its own embassy in China are also reportedly being held up.
Starmer is expected to visit China later this month, according to British media — although the trip has not yet been confirmed by Downing Street — as he tries to reset ties with the economic powerhouse.
If it goes ahead, it would be the first visit by a UK prime minister since 2018, after ties between London and Beijing fell to new lows under the previous Conservative government.
But the embassy plans, domestic furor over a collapsed case against two British men accused of spying for China, and the conviction of media mogul and British citizen Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong on two national security charges could make for an eventful first visit for Starmer.
While UK media reported that the development is likely to receive the green light this week, a refusal would not go down well in China.
When the decision was postponed once again in December, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing was “deeply concerned” and “strongly dissatisfied.”
Meanwhile, Starmer last month acknowledged that while China provided significant economic opportunities for the UK, it also posed “real national security threats.”
- ‘Spy embassy’ -
Last week, The Daily Telegraph reported the new embassy site would house 208 underground rooms, including a “hidden chamber,” according to unredacted plans obtained by the daily newspaper.
The vast site would also run alongside sensitive underground Internet cables, with the unredacted plans showing that Beijing would demolish and rebuild a wall between the cables and the embassy.
The high-speed Internet cables connect to the City of London financial district, with the Telegraph raising concerns that they could be tapped underground.
Hundreds rallied against the impending decision outside the proposed site on the weekend.
“We cannot allow the Chinese to build this spy embassy in an area so crucial to our national security,” said opposition Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch.
A protester in London who gave his name only as Brandon, for fear of reprisals, told AFP on Saturday that the plans raised a “lot of concerns.”
“I don’t think it’s good for anyone except the Chinese government,” said the 23-year-old bank employee who moved to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong.
Clara, a protester also originally from Hong Kong, said she was “really afraid of transnational repression that China can impose on us.”
“UK government, why are you still endorsing it?“
Local residents could meanwhile also launch a legal challenge against approval further delaying the project.
Beijing’s proposal for a new embassy on the historic site of the former Royal Mint — a stone’s throw from the Tower of London — has been dogged by delays since China bought it in 2018.
If the relocation from its current site in London’s upmarket Marylebone area is approved, it would be the largest embassy complex in the UK by area, and one of the largest embassies in the heart of a Western capital.
But the move has faced fierce opposition from residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party who fear the site could be used to surveil and harass dissidents.
The embassy proposal has proved to be particularly sensitive domestically, and appears to be a sticking point in bilateral ties as well.
The UK’s plans to redevelop its own embassy in China are also reportedly being held up.
Starmer is expected to visit China later this month, according to British media — although the trip has not yet been confirmed by Downing Street — as he tries to reset ties with the economic powerhouse.
If it goes ahead, it would be the first visit by a UK prime minister since 2018, after ties between London and Beijing fell to new lows under the previous Conservative government.
But the embassy plans, domestic furor over a collapsed case against two British men accused of spying for China, and the conviction of media mogul and British citizen Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong on two national security charges could make for an eventful first visit for Starmer.
While UK media reported that the development is likely to receive the green light this week, a refusal would not go down well in China.
When the decision was postponed once again in December, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing was “deeply concerned” and “strongly dissatisfied.”
Meanwhile, Starmer last month acknowledged that while China provided significant economic opportunities for the UK, it also posed “real national security threats.”
- ‘Spy embassy’ -
Last week, The Daily Telegraph reported the new embassy site would house 208 underground rooms, including a “hidden chamber,” according to unredacted plans obtained by the daily newspaper.
The vast site would also run alongside sensitive underground Internet cables, with the unredacted plans showing that Beijing would demolish and rebuild a wall between the cables and the embassy.
The high-speed Internet cables connect to the City of London financial district, with the Telegraph raising concerns that they could be tapped underground.
Hundreds rallied against the impending decision outside the proposed site on the weekend.
“We cannot allow the Chinese to build this spy embassy in an area so crucial to our national security,” said opposition Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch.
A protester in London who gave his name only as Brandon, for fear of reprisals, told AFP on Saturday that the plans raised a “lot of concerns.”
“I don’t think it’s good for anyone except the Chinese government,” said the 23-year-old bank employee who moved to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong.
Clara, a protester also originally from Hong Kong, said she was “really afraid of transnational repression that China can impose on us.”
“UK government, why are you still endorsing it?“
Local residents could meanwhile also launch a legal challenge against approval further delaying the project.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.