THE US raid on Venezuela over the weekend killed 32 Cubans, the island nation’s government said today, providing the first official death count into the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro.

Cuban military and police officers were on a mission at the request of Venezuela’s government, according to a statement read on Cuban state TV on Sunday night.

Cuba has sent military and police forces, as well as doctors and other medical staff, to its close ally for years.

Cuba’s government announced two days of mourning for the officers who were killed, and former president and revolutionary leader Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel sent condolences to their families.

“Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defence, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and fell after fierce resistance in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombings of the facilities,” the official statement said.

The names of the dead and the positions they held were not immediately disclosed by Cuban authorities.

“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” US President Donald Trump bragged to reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew from Florida to Washington on Sunday night.

“There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that Mr Maduro’s internal security apparatus was headed by Cubans and that they were “propping up Maduro.”

“All the guards that help protect Maduro … their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans,” Mr Rubio said.