At least 24 security officers in Caracas killed in U.S. operation to capture Maduro: Venezuela’s military

At least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in a U.S. military operation on Saturday (January 3. 2026), Venezuela’s military announced, bringing the official death count up to at least 56.

More civilians were killed in the strikes, Associated Press reporting shows, but it was immediately unclear how many.

Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Tuesday (January 6,) that “dozens” of officials and civilians were killed and that prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as “war crime.” He didn’t specify if the estimate was specifically referring to Venezuelans.

The number is on top of an announcement by Cuba’s government on Sunday (January 4) that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had died in the operation, prompting two days of mourning on the Caribbean island.

A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram features faces of many of those killed video layers over black-and-white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and armoured vehicles destroyed by the blasts.