For nearly two decades, they were the invisible scaffolding of Venezuela’s socialist state: Cuban intelligence officers embedded in military bases, security advisers shadowing generals, and technical teams quietly monitoring the communications of an entire nation.
Now, as Venezuela’s political order convulses after the capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro and Washington ramps up pressure on Havana, that scaffolding is starting to buckle under pressure.
Hundreds of Cuban security personnel — soldiers, intelligence agents and bodyguards — have begun leaving Caracas in recent weeks, according to multiple intelligence sources and diplomatic officials, signaling a potentially historic rupture in one of Latin America’s most consequential political alliances.
The exodus could weaken the surveillance and counterintelligence apparatus that helped sustain Venezuela’s authoritarian system for years, even as analysts warn that remnants of the network remain deeply embedded and capable of operating in the shadows.
“It essentially removes a layer of pressure from the armed forces,” said José Antonio Colina, a former Venezuelan military officer who has long tracked Cuban influence. “Those constant watchful eyes that were present throughout all these years of revolution are no longer over them.”
A security alliance
U.S. estimates suggest that as many as 25,000 Cuban personnel — including soldiers, intelligence agents and security advisers — have rotated through Venezuela over the past two decades under a largely undisclosed security pact dating back to the late leader Hugo Chávez.
In exchange for subsidized oil shipments that kept Cuba’s struggling economy afloat, Havana provided the expertise and manpower to help Caracas maintain internal control during periods of political unrest, according to current and former officials.
Thousands of Cuban doctors, nurses and sports trainers also worked across Venezuela as part of the broader cooperation agreement, blurring the line between civilian aid and state influence.
The arrangement became one of the pillars of the regional leftist alliance that defined Latin American politics for a generation. But behind the medical missions and sports cooperation lay a far more consequential partnership: the quiet deployment of Havana’s highly trained intelligence and social control apparatus.
The relationship came at a steep cost for Caracas, amounting to billions of dollars a year in oil shipments to Cuba, but it proved vital to the survival of Venezuela’s socialist government through years of internal unrest, mounting international pressure and the persistent risk of a military coup.
That all changed, however, after Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture by U.S. troops in a covert overnight operation.
Thirty-two Cuban security personnel were killed during the operation, officials said, underscoring how deeply embedded Havana’s forces were in protecting the Venezuelan leadership.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez — Maduro’s former vice president — is now relying primarily on Venezuelan bodyguards, according to people familiar with the security arrangements. And Cuban agents have begun to leave the barracks, the sources say — though not at the speed many in Venezuela would like.
It remains unclear whether Cuban personnel left on orders from Rodríguez, were recalled by Havana, or departed on their own amid mounting uncertainty. But part of the reason appears financial — with Washington now effectively controlling Venezuelan oil shipments and blocking the crude that once flowed to Cuba, Caracas can no longer pay for Havana’s services, sources said.
“After the January 3 operation, all payments to Cuba ceased”, one of the sources said.
Unit 105
At the center of Cuba’s intelligence footprint in Venezuela was a little-known operation known as Unit 105, described in a memorandum written by Venezuelan intelligence officials for the U.S. government and shared with the Miami Herald as the “technological brain” of the country’s surveillance state.
The unit fused signals intelligence and human intelligence to monitor communications, track individuals and detect signs of dissent, according to the document dated Feb. 17 and marked “verified — high priority.”
Operating from the sprawling Fuerte Tiuna military complex in Caracas, Unit 105 intercepted phone calls and monitored digital communications — including encrypted messaging platforms — while keeping close watch on Venezuela’s own military leadership.
“The objective was the survival of the system,” the memo states, describing a structure designed to detect internal conspiracies and maintain control over the armed forces.
The command structure operated under dual authority: Cuban intelligence officers provided the technical expertise and analytical direction, while Venezuelan agencies carried out arrests and interrogations based on the information collected.
“Their word was the final authority regarding the credibility of a threat,” the memorandum says of Cuban technical commanders.
The location inside Fuerte Tiuna — Venezuela’s most important military base — was strategic, allowing operators to monitor generals and maintain direct access to key telecommunications nodes connecting the presidential palace with military installations nationwide.
A system crippled but not gone
The Jan. 3 operation that led to Maduro’s capture also dealt a devastating blow to Unit 105.
According to the intelligence memorandum, the central headquarters at Fuerte Tiuna was destroyed in precision bombing, incinerating hardware and killing dozens of Cuban technical personnel.
Repeater antennas across the Caracas region were also neutralized, causing the system to lose its nationwide monitoring capability.
But the network did not disappear.
The memo warns that surviving operators relocated mirror servers and sensitive data to civilian infrastructure, including basements in central Caracas and the heavily fortified vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela.
“What remains is an information guerrilla,” the report concludes, warning that whoever controls the surviving servers could possess the intelligence record of the past quarter century.
Analysts say that residual databases could still be used for blackmail or political leverage, particularly during a fragile transition period.
Economic lifeline — and leverage
The security relationship between Havana and Caracas was underpinned by massive economic subsidies.
Intelligence sources say the oil support Cuba received from Venezuela over more than two decades exceeded the assistance the island once obtained from the Soviet Union — a lifeline that helped sustain the Cuban economy after the Cold War.
In return, Havana ensured the survival of the Venezuelan system that provided those resources, including maintaining close oversight of military structures, according to people familiar with the arrangement.
The Trump administration has made dismantling that economic link a central objective since Maduro’s capture, blockading Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba since December and threatening tariffs on countries that provide fuel to the island.
“It’s a failed nation, and they’re not getting any money from Venezuela, and they’re not getting any money from anyone,” President Donald Trump told reporters about Cuba earlier this month.
Rodríguez walking a tightrope
For Venezuela’s interim leader, the Cuban question is fraught with political risk.
Rodríguez must balance pressure from Washington to distance Caracas from Havana with the reality that Cuban advisers have long been woven into Venezuela’s security institutions.
“She wants to keep the Cubans at a distance until this situation calms down, until her hold on power is clear, but not entirely throw them under the bus, either,” Frank Mora, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States under the Biden administration, said in a Reuters news agency interview.
Observers say the gradual departure of Cuban personnel may reflect that delicate balancing act.
Havana has acknowledged the presence of “Cuban combatants” in Venezuela only recently after years of official denials, while condemning U.S. sanctions and pledging to resist what it calls intervention.
Sleeper cells
Even as hundreds — possibly thousands — of Cuban operatives leave, intelligence sources caution that the network is unlikely to disappear entirely.
Some advisers remain embedded in military and intelligence units, and undercover agents are expected to stay behind to monitor the evolving political landscape.
Sources familiar with the situation say Cuban operatives have long operated through a hybrid system, with military personnel based in Fuerte Tiuna and others rotating through hotels in central Caracas while supporting civilian intelligence operations.
The network also extended into administrative sectors such as notary offices, where officials compiled detailed profiles of citizens — a slow but effective intelligence-gathering method.
“There are sleeper cells,” said one source familiar with the intelligence reports, noting that younger operatives remain positioned in neighborhoods and institutions.
Withdrawals, desertions and internal strains
An exiled Venezuelan former military officer in contact with active personnel inside the country said the withdrawal of Cuban personnel has been broader and more systematic than publicly acknowledged, unfolding in phases since January.
“They have been progressively leaving since January, initially the ‘doctors, teachers and trainers’ from the outlying states toward the center,” the officer said, describing what he called an organized drawdown of Cuban presence across Venezuela.
According to the officer, the last groups expected to remain are those embedded in intelligence services and key ministries, though he said some sensitive units were pulled out earlier under orders from the Venezuelan leadership.
He said Cuban personnel assigned to the presidential guard, known as Casa Militar, as well as operatives working with the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, or DGCIM, and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, SEBIN, were withdrawn from regional stations before Feb. 1.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López also used the moment to remove Cuban advisers assigned to the Defense Ministry, including trainers in military academies and medical personnel working in military hospitals, the officer said.
The withdrawals, however, are creating unexpected complications.
The officer said there have been an undetermined number of desertions among Cuban personnel, with some seeking to remain in Venezuela rather than return to the island. Some have argued they have established families in the country, including marriages to Venezuelan partners and children born locally.
The group includes intelligence personnel who built personal ties during their assignments, he said, adding that some maintain relationships in Venezuela while also having partners or families in Cuba.
Analysts say such cases could complicate efforts by both governments to fully dismantle the decades-old security network, potentially leaving behind individuals with deep knowledge of sensitive operations and local institutions.
Potential turning point
For many analysts, the Cuban withdrawal represents a watershed moment in Venezuela’s modern history — one that could reshape the balance of power inside the armed forces and the broader political system.
For years, the presence of Cuban advisers inside military commands served as a powerful deterrent against internal dissent, critics say, ensuring loyalty through surveillance and ideological oversight.
If that layer of oversight weakens, officers may feel less constrained, potentially opening space for new political dynamics.
But the outcome remains uncertain.
The survival of intelligence databases, the presence of residual operatives and the fragility of Venezuela’s transition mean the legacy of the alliance will likely linger long after the last advisers depart.
“This is not the end of Cuban influence,” one intelligence source cautioned. “It’s a transformation.”
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