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Cuban Advisers and Doctors Exit Venezuela as Rodríguez Turns to Local Guards

The pullback follows intensified U.S. pressure designed to loosen Havana’s grip on Venezuela.

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez and Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Padilla attend the ceremony "Promotions and Decorations for Heroes and Martyrs", honouring Venezuelan and Cuban military and security personnel who died during a U.S. operation to capture Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela January 8, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) in the White House on January 29.
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Overview

  • Reuters, citing 11 sources, reports Cuban security advisers, medical staff and other personnel have begun departing Venezuela in recent weeks.
  • Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has placed her personal protection with Venezuelan bodyguards, breaking with the Cuban-guard model used by Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chávez.
  • Some Cuban advisers embedded in Venezuela’s DGCIM counterintelligence unit have been removed, marking a previously unreported shift in the security apparatus.
  • Washington has restricted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba since mid-December and is pressing Caracas to scale back ties with Havana, according to U.S. officials.
  • Departures are uneven and motives unclear, with some Cubans returning home after the Jan. 3 U.S. operation that captured Maduro and killed 32 Cuban personnel, while others—including doctors and likely covert agents—remain.