How Cuba was blindsided by the operation to capture Maduro

Havana: The capture by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and the killing in the operation of 32 Cubans assigned to protect him represent a...

Havana: The capture by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and the killing in the operation of 32 Cubans assigned to protect him represent a major blow for the island's revered intelligence services, experts say.

Fearful of betrayal by dissenters within Venezuela's ranks, the leftist Maduro -- like his late mentor Hugo Chavez -- sourced his security detail in communist-ruled Cuba.

But the Cubans proved little match for the US special forces sent by helicopter to snatch Maduro from a military compound after US jets had pummeled Venezuela's air defenses.

Of the 32 Cubans killed - along with 23 Venezuelan troops -- 21 were from the Cuban interior ministry, which oversees the intelligence services, officials said.

The remaining 11 were from Cuba's military.