Original article: “Hasta ahora”, 100 muertos: Diosdado Cabello denuncia el costo humano del ataque de EE.UU. en Venezuela
The Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, has reported that the U.S. military attack on January 3, which resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, has so far claimed at least 100 lives, with a similar number of injuries.
«Venezuela was the victim of a barbaric and treacherous attack. So far, and I emphasize ‘so far,’ there are 100 fatalities and a comparable number of injuries,» Cabello stated during his program «Con el mazo dando,» broadcasted on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Cabello condemned the military invasion ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump as a «terrible attack.»
«This is true, and there’s no way to cover it up; the world is discovering this fact completely,» he asserted.
He pointed out that the U.S. government committed a «horrific crime» against Venezuela by bombing civilian areas while residents slept, which he claims led to the deaths of innocent people during the military operation.
Cabello noted that among the fatalities are civilians and women who had no involvement in the conflict, and who were struck by the «powerful bombs unleashed on our country.»
Cabello: «Suddenly, the shrapnel arrived and they were killed»
During his program, the Minister paid tribute to the Venezuelan people, whom he called «noble and brave,» referring to them as «fallen martyrs and heroes,» including members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), police officers, and Cuban military present in the country.
«Just like companions who were asleep at home and suddenly the shrapnel arrived and they were killed,» he emphasized.
Prior to the minister’s statements, the Venezuelan Army published a list naming 24 of its fallen soldiers, while Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the launch of an investigation to gather information on what he estimated to be «dozens» of deaths, both civilian and military.
«We have designated three prosecutors from the Public Ministry to investigate the many innocent civilian and military casualties that occurred amid this horrible war crime, this unprecedented aggression against the Venezuelan homeland,» Saab stated.
The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, whom Cabello described as «brave,» declared a week of mourning for those killed in the Washington attack.
During an event in a popular community in Caracas, Rodríguez paid tribute to the «young martyrs» who «sacrificed their lives defending Venezuela, defending President Nicolás Maduro.»
«I have made the decision to declare a seven-day mourning period in honor and glory to the men and women who died defending Venezuela,» the interim president affirmed, with her declaration being broadcasted on state television VTV.
«It has pierced my soul to see images of lifeless bodies, but I know they were martyred for the supreme values of this Republic,» she added during her speech.
Venezuelan authorities have declared that a large portion of Maduro’s security contingent was killed «in cold blood,» and Cuba reported that 32 members of its armed forces present in the Caribbean nation also died during the attack.
Two Women Killed During U.S. Attack on Venezuela
According to reports from the U.S., only seven military personnel were injured, as stated by NBC news citing «a Pentagon official and a person familiar with the situation.» Two of the servicemen are still recovering from their injuries, while the other five have returned to duty.
Regarding civilian casualties, which Donald Trump never mentions when boasting about the operation’s success, among the deceased were Colombian vendor Yohana Rodríguez, 45, and Rosa Elena González, a 78-year-old lawyer residing in La Guaira, near Caracas.
According to Colombian media, Rodríguez was a single mother who supported her three children through her daily work in Venezuela, where she had lived for several years.
On the night of January 3, she was with her daughter, Ana Corina Morales, 22, who was injured in the leg and was hospitalized.
In the midst of the bombings, Morales wrote to a relative in Colombia: «They are attacking us, my mom is dead, cousin. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, I don’t know what’s happening.»
«Yohana was a good, hardworking, noble, cheerful, and fighting woman. She frequently traveled between Caracas and Colombia. She was born here but always sought new opportunities; that’s why she settled in Venezuela many years ago. At the time, she lived in a big house in a farm located in El Hatillo municipality in the Miranda state,» Ana, Yohana’s relative recounted.
In statements to El Universal, she indicated that «there were television and telecommunications antennas in that area, and those were the first targets the American planes bombed. It was 1 a.m. when Yohana heard the explosion. She was sleeping with her daughter Ana Corina, and they were frightened, so they ran out to the yard when a missile struck them.»
«At the moment the missile hit them, Ana, who was injured, grabbed a phone and called us. She was saying, ‘they are killing us, they killed my mom, I don’t know what’s happening, but I think we won’t see each other again.’ It was horrible; no one knew what was going on,» she narrated.
She explained that Yohana died instantly, while Ana Corina is out of danger, recovering from her injuries.
«We have information that several people were killed in that sector, not just my relative. The press has not revealed it, but many lives were lost that day,» she emphasized.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned Yohana’s death amid the aggression against Venezuela.
«In the bombings, they killed a Colombian mother, Yohana’s mother, a nurse. She sold goods on the streets of Caracas. She is from Cartagena, once land of slaves and emancipators, brave resistants against the invader, and very Afro, like many of us from the people,» he stated in a message posted on his social media channels.
Yohana and Ana Corina’s relatives expressed their outrage over the violent manner in which their loved one lost her life, accusing the United States government of acting with full awareness and disrespect towards civilians, sovereignty, and life.
«We know they already knew where Maduro was, so we don’t understand why they attacked areas surrounded by civilians while they were sleeping, despite having located their target. It is a government without human conscience, without respect for the innocent, as there are over 100 dead at this time. They wanted to exert their power at any cost,» they indicated to El Universal.
In the case of the senior citizen Rosa Elena González, an explosion collapsed the wall of her bedroom in La Guaira state while she was sleeping.
According to reports, her relatives rushed her to a nearby hospital in search of oxygen, but she died shortly after due to the severity of injuries sustained from the wall collapse. Her funeral took place on Monday, January 5.
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