In a speech broadcast by state television VTV, Rodriguez explained that the week-long mourning was due to the need to honor the memory of those killed.
“I have decided to declare seven days of mourning in honor and glory of the young people, women and men who died giving their lives in defense of Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro,” Rodriguez said.
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How many days does national mourning last in Venezuela?
Who declared national mourning?
How many people died as a result of the US military attack?
What were the nationalities of the victims of the attack in Venezuela?
She added that although “the image of the bodies of the dead broke her heart”, she nevertheless – as she emphasized – believed that the victims suffered a “martyrdom in the name of the republic” of Venezuela.
The governments of Venezuela and Cuba announced on Tuesday that 56 people were killed as a result of the US attack on targets on Venezuelan territory on Saturday morning. 32 of them were Cuban citizens and the remaining 24 victims were Venezuelan soldiers.
The media report that two civilian women, one of whom is a Colombian citizen, were also killed in Saturday's attack by US troops on Venezuela. Maduro himself and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in court in the US; are accused of, among others, for “participation in a narco-terrorist conspiracy” and importing cocaine into the USA. They pleaded not guilty.
