The U.S. attack on Venezuela killed at least 24 Venezuelan security officers, according to The Associated Press. The announcement comes after Cuba stated the operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro also killed 32 of its nationals.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said “dozens” of officials and civilians died in the attack. Saab did not specify if that number included the Cuban nationals but said Venezuelan prosecutors would investigate the deaths that he described as a “war crime.”
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The Venezuelan military posted a video as a tribute to the security officers killed in the attack, according to the AP. The video shows the faces of the officers killed in the raid over black and white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and destroyed armored vehicles.
“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the Instagram post read. “It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”
How many died during the attack?
The total killed in the attack stood at 56, according to officials.
The U.S. used at least 150 aircraft in the operation from 20 different bases, according to NBC News. That fleet included bombers, fighter jets and aircraft used for surveillance. Low-flying helicopters carried special forces troops and law enforcement who grabbed Maduro and his wife in the early hours of Jan. 3.
Other aircraft destroyed Venezuela’s air defense systems, allowing the helicopters free rein over Venezuelan airspace.
As U.S. troops reached Maduro’s compound, a firefight broke out between Maduro’s security forces and U.S. special forces. Officials did not say how many died in the firefight or in the missile strikes.
U.S. officials said the attack caused “several injuries” to U.S. troops. However, they said all injured troops are in stable condition. Venezuelan forces also hit one helicopter during the raid.
Did the US commit war crimes?
Venezuela said the U.S. attack killed at least 80 people but only 56 have been officially confirmed. They said a number of civilians also died in the attack but have not released any information to confirm that.
If evidence comes to light that the U.S. did kill civilians, that could result in war crime charges. However, this only applies to intentionally killing civilians. If the U.S. attacked military targets and civilians accidentally died, International Humanitarian Law considers that collateral damage, which is not a war crime.
The Venezuelan government has alleged that the U.S. attack amounted to a war crime. Some experts have agreed, saying the attack was a “crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country.”
The Trump administration defended the attack, saying Venezuela carried out a “campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States.”
The U.S. has been accused of war crimes several times in its past. A significant example involving airstrikes was the Amiriyah shelter bombing in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. The U.S. ordered a missile strike on an underground building that they said the Iraqi military used as a command center.
However, the underground building was a bomb shelter mostly filled with civilians. The attack killed more than 400 civilians, mostly women and children. The U.S. denied knowing the facility was a bomb shelter and avoided any consequences for the incident. It was the largest single case of civilian casualties that occurred during Operation Desert Storm, according to the BBC.
