Venezuelan officials confirmed the death of an army colonel who was wounded during the U.S. Military operation that led to the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
Helmer David Prato Veloz, a colonel in the Venezuelan Army and director of the Cacique Tiuna Training Center, died on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, after months of medical treatment for injuries sustained during the January 3 incursion at Fort Tiuna in Caracas.
According to reports, Prato suffered severe wounds while on duty when U.S. Forces launched the operation that resulted in Maduro’s detention. He underwent multiple surgeries and required intensive care but ultimately succumbed to complications from his injuries.
The announcement was made by Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, during a public event in Falcón state broadcast on state television. She did not disclose the cause of death but honored Prato as a combatant of the January 3 operation.
“We received the sad and unfortunate news of the passing of an army colonel who was in combat on January 3. Honor and glory to our fighters of January 3,” Rodríguez said.
Her statement was echoed by the commander of the Venezuelan Army, Major General Rubén Darío Belzares Escobar, who described Prato as an exemplary officer defined by “a firm commitment to the homeland.”
Rodríguez, who assumed her role as acting president on January 5 — two days after the U.S. Operation — has since used the anniversary of the incident to call for national unity and the lifting of U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela.
She reiterated that the Venezuelan people remain united in the face of foreign aggression, saying, “There is no way that an external aggression will be permitted when the people are united,” and urged citizens to heal from the wounds left by the attack.
The incident remains a focal point of Venezuela’s official narrative, with state media and government officials regularly referencing the January 3 event as a moment of national resistance.
