Venezuelan official says at least 40 people were killed in US attack

At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early on Jan 3, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports.

President Donald Trump, speaking on Fox News on Jan 3, said that no US troops had been killed. He suggested, however, that some service members had been injured.

General Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said later in the day at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago with Mr Trump that US helicopters moving to extract President Nicolas Maduro and his wife
had come under fire. He said that one helicopter had been hit but “remained flyable” and that all US aircraft “came home”.

In the immediate aftermath of the US attack, details began to emerge of the death of a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport. There, an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment complex and knocked out an exterior wall early on Jan 3 as US forces assaulted the city.

The strike killed Ms Rosa Gonzalez, 80, her family said, and seriously wounded a second person.

In the afternoon, a government investigator was present in the area of the strike, interviewing witnesses and picking up projectiles.

Mr Wilman Gonzalez, Ms Rosa Gonzalez’s nephew, said he ducked when heard the strike about 2am local time (2pm Singapore time) but nearly lost an eye. He had three stitches on the side of his face.

Mr Wilman Gonzalez, who appeared numb hours later, showed journalists where the US ordnance had hit. Asked where he would go now that he lost his home, he said simply, “I don’t know.”

He spoke little as he bent down and searched for whatever valuables he could salvage. He picked up an old umbrella and carried a set of drawers.

The strike left the interior of an apartment exposed to the public. Among the wreckage was a portrait of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar that looked like it had been riddled with shrapnel.

One neighbour, a 70-year-old man named Jorge who declined to give his last name, said he lost everything in the airstrike.

Several people were gathered outside on the afternoon of Jan 3 while others searched what remained of their apartments. Most were barely speaking.

Some of the residents outside were praying. Others were angry.

One man, who gave his name as Javier, blamed greed for the attack on Venezuela, an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s stated desire to let American companies take control of Venezuelan oil fields
. The lives of people like him, he said, meant nothing.

The residents said that four men had tried to rescue Ms Rosa Gonzalez after the airstrike. They carried her onto a motorbike and took her to a hospital, but she was declared dead on arrival.

Another woman was also taken to the hospital; residents were later told that she had survived but was in critical condition. NYTIMES

• Frances Robles and Mariana Martinez contributed reporting.