CUBA DENOUNCES U.S. ‘COWARDLY’ MILITARY AGGRESSION IN CAPTURING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT

Cuba on Saturday condemned the “cowardly” use of military aggression by U.S. special forces to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The Cuban government stated in a website post that this action constitutes a “criminal act and a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”

In its statement, Cuba described the incident as part of a “dangerous escalation of the sustained campaign of war waged for years by the United States against that sister nation,” which it said intensified beginning in September 2025 with an aggressive naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea under false pretexts and unfounded accusations lacking any evidence.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured following a “large-scale strike” conducted by the United States early Saturday morning, according to President Donald Trump’s announcement. Attorney General Pam Bondi subsequently announced the indictment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on terrorism and weapons charges in the Southern District of New York.

Cuba demanded the “immediate release by U.S. authorities” of both Maduro and Flores. The government also accused the United States of engaging in “blatant imperialist and fascist aggression with objectives of domination,” rooted in the Monroe Doctrine, aimed at reviving U.S. hegemonic ambitions over Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cuba emphasized that the U.S. actions seek to “intimidate and subjugate the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean.” It further stated that the United States, President Donald Trump, his Secretary of State, and other aggressive elements hostile to Latin America bear “absolute responsibility for the deaths, as well as the human and material damage already caused and any that may result from this aggression.”

The Cuban government warned that “the international community cannot allow an aggression of this nature and gravity against a U.N. member state to go unpunished, nor permit the military abduction of the legitimate and sitting president of a sovereign country without consequences.”

Cuba has maintained close political and security ties with Venezuela for years, embedding intelligence operatives and security personnel within Venezuelan government structures.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concern on Saturday over the United States’ capture of Maduro, stating he would be “concerned” about Cuba’s leadership following the operation. Rubio accused Cuba of being “run by incompetent, senile men” and claimed that Maduro’s guards and Venezuela’s “whole spy agency” were “full of Cubans,” adding that “this poor island took over Venezuela.”