HAVANA (AP) — Bugles and drums sounded solemnly at Havana airport Thursday as white-gloved Cuban soldiers stepped out of a plane carrying urns of the 32 Cuban officers killed in a shocking U.S. attack on Venezuela.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets for the bodies, as the island remains under threat from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Soldiers walked stiffly into the armed forces headquarters and placed urns on a long table next to photos of the fallen, their shoes clicking. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urn or placing their hands over their hearts, many soaked from standing outside in the pouring rain.
Thursday’s mass funeral was just one of a handful organized by the Cuban government over the past half century.
The soldiers were part of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s security detail who raided the home of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, arrested the former leader and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
State television also showed images of more than a dozen combatants allegedly injured in the attack, who arrived from Venezuela on Wednesday night accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. State media said a man named Colonel Pedro Aden Dominguez attended Thursday’s ceremony in a wheelchair.
He said it was a “disproportionate attack” that killed 11 colleagues around him as they slept. Aden said he was committed to “defending this people at all costs and remaining united in the face of threats from the United States.”
Tensions are rising between Cuba and the United States, with Trump recently asking the Caribbean nation to reach a deal with him before “it’s too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal it was.
Trump also said Cuba would no longer rely on Venezuelan money and oil to survive. Experts warn that a sudden end to oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with severe blackouts and a collapsed power grid.
‘This will always unite us’
Officials unfurled a huge flag at Havana airport and President Miguel Díaz-Canel, dressed in military fatigues, stood quietly next to former President Raul Castro as relatives of the victims appeared to look on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Alvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of the anti-imperialist struggle in Cuba and Venezuela. He was apparently referring to the United States, saying that by “enemy” he meant “high-precision warfare, military, elites and hegemony.”
“On the other hand, we’re talking about faces, we’re talking about families who have lost fathers, sons, husbands, brothers,” Alvarez said.
These events show that “imperialism may have more advanced weapons; it may possess vast material wealth; it may buy the minds of wavering people; but there is one thing it can never buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Industrial designer Carmen Gómez, 58, was one of thousands of Cubans who lined the streets as motorcycles and military vehicles roared by carrying the bodies of the victims.
“They are people who are willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” Gomez said. “This is because Cubans have a patriotic spirit that will always unite us.”
‘People are upset and hurt’
The 32 soldiers, whose ages range from 26 to 60, are part of a protection agreement between the two countries.
Cuban officials said they expected large demonstrations on Friday opposite the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.
Analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugare told The Associated Press that “people are frustrated and hurt… many people do believe the dead were martyrs” in the historic struggle with the United States.
First mass funeral in decades
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led massive demonstrations to say goodbye to the 73 people killed in a bombing of a civilian airliner sponsored by U.S. counterrevolutionary leaders, most of whom were Cuban athletes.
In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony to commemorate the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during the war in which Cuba fought to defeat South African forces.
In October 1997, a memorial service was held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who died in 1967, and six of his comrades.
José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who has lived in Venezuela for four years, said the latest mass burial was essential to commemorate the victims.
“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come into a country like ours, and if he did, he would have to take aspirin or painkillers to avoid headaches,” Pinheiro said. “There are 32 heroes fighting him. Can you imagine an entire country? He’s going to lose.”
U.S. aid for hurricane recovery angers Cuba
The remains arrived just one day after the United States announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. The first flight departed on Wednesday and the second flight is scheduled to depart on Friday. Merchant ships will also deliver food and other supplies.
Cuba said on Wednesday that any donations would be channeled through the government.
But State Department foreign aid official Jeremy Levin said Thursday that the United States is working with the Cuban Catholic Church to distribute the aid as part of Washington’s efforts to deliver aid directly to the Cuban people.
“Canned tuna, rice, beans and pasta have no political significance,” he said on Thursday, warning the Cuban government should not interfere or divert supplies. “We will be watching closely and holding them accountable.”
Lewin said that the Cuban government has a choice: “to step down or to better serve the people.” Lewin added that “if there is no regime,” the United States will provide “billions of dollars” in aid and investment and development: “This is the other side of the Cuban people’s regime.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez said the U.S. government “is using seemingly humanitarian gestures for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”
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Coto is from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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