Cuban president says soldiers fell defending ‘sovereignty of a sister nation’ amid escalating tensions with Washington.

Cuba has paid tribute to 32 of its soldiers who were killed in a United States attack on Venezuela earlier this month that led to the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.

The remains of the soldiers, who were members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, arrived early on Thursday at Havana’s international airport, in coffins draped in the Cuban flag.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Raul Castro, the 94-year-old retired former Cuban leader, were present in full military uniform to receive the remains.

Diaz-Canel hailed the soldiers earlier this week, saying they “heroically fell in defence of the sovereignty of a sister nation”.

At Thursday’s event, Interior Minister General Lazaro Alberto Alvarez also expressed the country’s gratitude for the soldiers he said had “fought to the last bullet” during the US military’s January 3 attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

“We do not receive them with resignation; we do so with profound pride,” said Alvarez, adding that the US “will never be able to buy the dignity of the Cuban people”.

A motorcade later transferred the remains to the armed forces ministry along one of Havana’s main boulevards, lined by thousands of people paying their respects, waving flags and saluting.

Residents of the capital also lined up to pay their respects at the ministry throughout the day.

US President Donald Trump has rejected international criticism that the raid to capture Maduro violated international law, stressing last week that he will only be guided by his “own morality”.

That led to soaring tensions around the world, including in Latin America in particular, which has a long history of US military intervention.

Tensions between the US and Cuba spiralled this week after Trump told the country he would cut off Venezuelan oil and money from reaching the island, warning Havana to make a deal before it’s “too late”.

Trump’s comments prompted a defiant response from Diaz-Canel, who said Cuba would defend its homeland “to the last drop of blood”.

“We have always been willing to maintain serious and responsible dialogue with the various US administrations, including the current one, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect and the principles of international law,” the Cuban president said.

He added that relations between the US and Cuba should be based on international law rather than “hostility, threats, and economic coercion”.

Meanwhile, a rally is also planned on Friday in front of the US embassy in Havana to protest the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela.

Maduro, who was abducted by US forces alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, is being held in the US on drug-related charges, which he denies.