Cuban Authorities Hold Honor Guard for the Fallen in Venezuela

The leader of the Cuban Revolution, Raúl Castro, and the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, today stood the final honor guard for the island's combatants who fell in defense of Venezuela.

At the headquarters of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), Raúl also paid tribute to each of the 32 Cubans who died on January 3rd, when US military forces carried out an operation to capture the president of the South American nation, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Joining Raúl and Díaz-Canel in the solemn ceremony were the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Álvarez Casas, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera.

The remains of the 32 soldiers arrived in Havana this Thursday, where the people paid homage as the coffins passed along Rancho Boyeros Avenue, first, and then at the FAR headquarters.

The tribute that began in this capital will extend tomorrow to all the provinces and municipalities of the Caribbean nation.

The funeral rites began very early in the day on the tarmac of the José Martí International Airport, also in the presence of Raúl and the Head of State, as well as the families of the fallen.

The combatants received a posthumous promotion in military rank, as a worthy and deserved tribute to their heroism, according to a mandate from the Government of Cuba.

As part of the popular tribute, Havana residents will gather tomorrow at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune (in front of the US mission headquarters here) to express their homage in a "March of the Combatant People."

That same day, at 09:00, simultaneous ceremonies will be held in all provincial capitals, while at 16:00 hours the heroes will be interred in the Pantheons of the Fallen for the Defense of their respective localities.

Each municipality in the country will hold tribute ceremonies.