Under intense pressure from Washington to dismantle Latin America’s most significant leftist pact, Cuban doctors and security consultants have begun exiting Venezuela, as reported by Reuters.
Unlike her predecessor, the deposed Nicolas Maduro, or the late Hugo Chavez — both of whom relied on elite Cuban forces — Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has now entrusted her personal safety to Venezuelan bodyguards.
According to the Cuban government, 32 Cubans were killed during the January 3 US military operation that captured Maduro. Those personnel were part of a deep-rooted security pact dating back to the late 2000s, which saw Cuban intelligence twitter-tweetded within Venezuela’s military and the DGCIM counterintelligence unit — a pillar in neutralizing domestic dissent.
“The Cuban influence was absolutely essential” to the survival of the Chavista government, Alejandro Velasco, an associate professor of history at New York University and an expert on Venezuela, told Reuters.
A former intelligence official states that several Cuban advisers have already been stripped of their DGCIM posts. Reuters reports that cohorts of medical staff and security experts have been filmed departing for Cuba in recent weeks.
A source close to the ruling Socialist Party told Reuters that Rodriguez ordered the departures specifically to appease US demands. This shift — removing Cubans from the presidential guard and intelligence apparatus — marks a previously unreported turning point in regional dynamics.
US wants to severe Venezuela-Cuba ties
Before the mission to oust Maduro, thousands of Cuban professionals, including doctors and coaches, staffed Venezuelan social programs initiated by Chavez. In return, Caracas provided Havana with vital oil shipments. Following the January attack, US President Donald Trump pledged to permanently sever this bilateral security bond.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!,” he wrote on Truth Social on January 11.
A White House official said the US has “a very good relationship with the leaders of Venezuela” and that it believes that Rodriguez’s “own self-interest aligns with advancing our key objectives.”
Dissolving the Venezuela-Cuba axis is a cornerstone of Washington’s broader ambition to topple Havana’s communist administration. Since mid-December, a US blockade has prevented Venezuelan oil from reaching the island, creating a severe economic stranglehold. While the Cuban government has expressed a willingness for “equal terms” dialogue, it continues to condemn the maritime blockade and vows to resist American interventionism.
Though Rodriguez — the daughter of a Marxist guerrilla — is a longtime member of the ruling Socialist Party and a close confidante of the Cuban leadership, she is now navigating a delicate transition. Her pivot away from Cuban protection suggests a pragmatic response to the reality of US influence in the post-Maduro era, reported Reuters.
