CARACAS: Venezuela’s military has begun burying dozens of soldiers killed during a United States military operation last weekend that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, as the government releases new details about the scale of the casualties.
A mass funeral was held in the capital, Caracas, where men carried wooden caskets draped in the Venezuelan flag past rows of uniformed officers. Hymns echoed from a nearby church as a military orchestra played during the ceremony, while relatives and fellow soldiers marched solemnly behind the coffins.
The burial took place at a state-owned cemetery in a low-income neighbourhood in the south of the city. As the caskets were lowered into the ground, ceremonial gunfire rang out across the graveyard. Earlier in the day, grieving family members wept and embraced beside the coffins during a wake.
“Thank you for allowing them to embrace a military career,” military commander Rafael Murillo told families gathered at the ceremony.
Before the funeral began, armed members of the National Guard patrolled parts of the area while families of the fallen soldiers completed administrative paperwork required for the burials.
Later, the Venezuelan government said US attacks during the operation killed at least 100 people. Speaking on state television, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the number of dead stood at 100 so far, with a similar number wounded.
“The attack on our country was terrible,” Cabello said, adding that the figure could change as authorities continue to assess the aftermath.
Caracas had not previously released an official death toll. The army later published a list of 23 of its members who were killed, while Venezuelan officials said a large part of Maduro’s security detail was killed during the raid. Cuba has also said that 32 of its military and intelligence personnel stationed in Venezuela were killed.
The operation ended with Maduro being taken into US custody. Venezuelan officials said both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were injured during the seizure but were recovering. Both were later seen walking without assistance during a court appearance in New York earlier this week.
The funerals underscore the growing sense of national mourning as Venezuelans grapple with the human cost of the operation, while questions continue to mount over the scale of the violence and its consequences.
