Hundreds of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Venezuela in the weeks following Nicolás Maduro's January 3 capture by U.S. troops, according to intelligence sources and diplomatic officials. Their departures mark a shift in a two-decade security alliance that saw Cuban advisers embedded deep inside Venezuela's military and intelligence structures.
U.S. estimates have suggested that as many as 25,000 Cuban personnel — including intelligence officers, soldiers and security advisers — rotated through Venezuela under agreements dating back to Hugo Chávez. In exchange for subsidized oil shipments, Havana provided expertise that officials and analysts say was critical to maintaining internal control.
