The death toll from Trump’s military raid on Venezuela is significantly higher than the U.S. government initially claimed, according to Venezuelan officials.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Venezuela’s interior minister Diosdado Cabello announced Wednesday that 100 people were killed in the U.S. military operation to capture dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife—25 more deaths than the 40 initially reported by American officials. “So far—and I say so far—there are 100 dead. One hundred. And a similar number injured,” Cabello stated, according to The Daily Beast.
THE DETAILS: This marks the first time Caracas has provided an official casualty count. Previously, Venezuela had only released the names of 23 slain service members. Cuba also reported that 32 of its military personnel died in the attack.
Venezuelan officials claim that large numbers of Maduro’s security detail were killed “in cold blood,” according to Reuters. Cabello has commenced a week of mourning for the fallen troops.
BUT BUT BUT: The Pentagon’s numbers tell a very different story. According to CNBC, the U.S. military says just seven American service members were injured in the operation, with five already recovered. No U.S. fatalities have been announced. The massive discrepancy between American and Venezuelan casualty counts remains unexplained.
WHY IT MATTERS: Whether the final number is 75 or 100, Trump’s Venezuela operation has already resulted in significant loss of life—and those numbers could still climb. Cabello’s ominous qualifier “so far” suggests the death toll may continue to rise as more information emerges from what has become one of the deadliest U.S. military interventions in recent memory.


