NYT: At least 40 dead in US attack on Venezuela

(Patria) - At least 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed in a US attack on Venezuela early Saturday morning, according to preliminary reports provided on condition of anonymity by a high-ranking Venezuelan official, writes The New York Times (NYT).

US President Donald Trump stated yesterday that no American soldiers were killed in the attack, but admitted that several service members were injured.

Later that day, at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, clarified that American helicopters, which were on a mission to extract President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, came under fire.

According to him, one helicopter was hit but "remained capable of flight," and all American aircraft "returned home." Shortly after the attack, devastating news of civilian casualties began to emerge.

In Catia La Mar, a poor coastal area west of Caracas airport, a US airstrike hit a three-story residential building and collapsed its outer wall.

80-year-old Rosa González lost her life in the attack, her family confirmed, while another person was seriously injured. In the afternoon, a government investigator was at the scene of the attack, talking to witnesses and collecting missile fragments.

The nephew of the murdered elderly woman, Wilman González, recounted how he threw himself to the floor when he heard the impact around 2 AM, but still almost lost an eye and received three stitches on his face. Visibly shaken, he showed reporters the impact site.

When asked where he would go now that he was homeless, he briefly replied: "I don't know".

Almost speechless, he searched the rubble for anything valuable he could salvage. The impact completely exposed the interior of the apartment. Among the rubble, riddled with shrapnel, stood a portrait of Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar.

One of the neighbors, 70-year-old Jorge, who did not wish to reveal his last name, said he lost everything he owned in the airstrike.

Several people gathered in front of the destroyed building on Saturday afternoon. While some searched through what remained of their homes, others prayed quietly, but anger was also palpable.

One man, who introduced himself as Javier, blamed greed for the attack, clearly alluding to the Trump administration's desire to allow American companies to take control of Venezuelan oil fields. The lives of people like him, he said, mean nothing.

Residents recounted how four men tried to rescue González after the attack. They took her to the hospital by motorcycle, but she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Another woman, who was also taken to the hospital, survived, but according to the latest information, she is in critical condition.