By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ

HAVANA (AP) — An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said Sunday in the first official death count provided of the American strikes in the South American nation.

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

What the Cubans were working on in the South American nation was unclear, but Cuba is a close ally of Venezuela’s government and has sent military and police forces to assist in operations for years. Rumors of the deaths circulated on the island over the weekend.

“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew Sunday night from Florida back to Washington. “There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”

The U.S. operation Saturday seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to face prosecution on an indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

While Venezuela’s government has acknowledged that a number of people died in the American blasts, they did not confirm how many were killed to The Associated Press.

Cuba’s government announced two days of mourning for the Cuban officers who were killed, and former president and revolutionary leader Raúl Castro and President Miguel Díaz-Canel sent condolences to their families. The names of the dead and the positions they held were not immediately disclosed by Cuban authorities.

“Faithful to their responsibilities for security and defense, 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.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also pointed to Cuban involvement in Venezuela over the weekend, saying that Maduro’s internal security apparatus was headed by Cubans and that they were “propping up Maduro.”

“All the guards that help protect Maduro — this is well known — their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans,” Rubio said.

___

Associated Press reporters Megan Janetsky in Mexico City and Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

 

By ELAINE KURTENBACH

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices fell back Monday while the prices of precious metals surged as markets registered a mixed reaction to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a weekend raid.

Share prices opened higher, with benchmarks in South Korea and Japan again setting fresh records. U.S. futures were flat after stocks eked out small gains Friday on Wall Street.

Shortly after trading began, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose slightly. But it later was trading 23 cents lower at $57.09 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 17 cents to $60.58 per barrel.

After years of neglect and international sanctions, Venezuela’s oil industry is in disrepair. It could take years and major investments before production can increase dramatically. But some analysts expect Venezuela could double or triple its current output of about 1.1 million barrels of oil a day to return to historic levels fairly quickly.

With oil levels already plentiful, crude has been trading at its lowest level in about six months.

In any case, the U.S. move was reverberating through financial markets as traders maneuvered to account for the uncertainty brought on President Donald Trump’s unusual military operation and his insistence that the U.S. will be running Venezuela following its Maduro’s ouster.

The price of gold rose 1.9%, while silver jumped 5.7%.

Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil.

“Investors are happy to own risk, but they want insurance in the drawer. This is confidence with a hedge, not euphoria,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Share prices in Asia shot sharply higher.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 jumped 3% to 51,853.53. The index closed at a year end high for 2025 and only resumed trading on Monday.

“Looking at the environment surrounding the markets, continuously, there are various risk factors. We must keep an eye on geopolitical risks in Ukraine, the Middle East and East Asia, the U.S.-China trade war, monetary policies in other countries and their development, and corporate performance trends in Japan,” Hiromi Yamaji, CEO of the Japan Exchange Group, said in the traditional New Year opening ceremony.

South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.1% to 4,441.80. It had ended Friday with a record high close.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% to 8,733.30, while Taiwan’s benchmark climbed 2.9%.

In other trading early Monday, the dollar rose to 157.27 Japanese yen from 156.82 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1682 from $1.1726.

On Friday, U.S. stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street in a wobbly but quiet day of trading to kick off the new year.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, to 6,858.47, coming off a gain of more than 16% in 2025.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 48,382.39, while the Nasdaq composite fell less than 0.1%, to 23,235.63. The index was weighed down by a 2.2% loss for Microsoft and a 2.6% decline for Tesla, after it reported falling sales for a second year in a row.

Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla are among the most valuable companies in the world and their outsized valuations give them more influence on the stock market’s direction. That includes sometimes pushing the market up and down from hour to hour.

Furniture companies gained ground following President Donald Trump’s move to delay increased tariffs on upholstered furniture. RH rose 8% and Wayfair rose 6.1%.

This week is the first full week of the new year. It will bring several closely watched economic updates, some of the last big updates the Fed sees before its next meeting at the end of January.

On the agenda are private reports on the status of the services sector, which is the largest part of the U.S. economy, along with consumer sentiment. Government reports on the job market will also be released. The hope is they’ll help paint a clearer picture of how various parts of the U.S. economy closed out 2025 and where it might be headed in 2026.

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MILWAUKEE — Star speedskater Jordan Stolz figured some extra rest was more important than competing in an event he didn’t need to with an Olympic berth already assured, so after finishing first in the 500 meters at the U.S. trials Sunday, he decided to just line up at the start of the 1,500 instead of actually racing.

The 21-year-old Stolz, twice the world champion at the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 and expected to be one of the faces of the Milan Cortina Games, took a couple of strides from an upright position in the outside lane, then took a hard left and skated toward the sideline. He shrugged as he came off the track.

Emery Lehman, who is from Chicago, won the 1,500 in 1 minute, 44.20 seconds to get another of the three spots for U.S. men in that event, and Casey Dawson — who won the 5,000 on Friday — was second in 1:45.60.

The women’s 1,500 was won by Brittany Bowe, a 33-year-old who grew up in Florida; she’ll also compete in the 1,000 at her fourth Olympics. Greta Myers, a 21-year-old from Lino Lakes, Minn., initially finished second, was disqualified for making contact with Bowe during their heat, then again was second-fastest during a solo reskate more than an hour later, which she completed even faster than her original time.

Stolz arrived last week at the Pettit National Ice Center, about 40 minutes south of his hometown of Kewaskum, already assured of being prequalified for the Feb. 6-22 Olympics in four events based on World Cup results: 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters, plus the mass start.

That means he only needed to participate at the trials in each of those races to make his spots official for the Winter Games.

“I’m just a little tired,” Stolz said about the choice to essentially skip the 1,500. “Qualify my spot and take a rest.”

In Saturday’s 1,000, his first race in Milwaukee and one in which he holds the world record, Stolz lost his footing right at the outset and fell to the ice, a stunning mistake. But he got right up and closed with the third-best time.

“Pretty impressive,” he said with a laugh.

Afterward, he blamed a recent head cold that left him dehydrated and cramping and without proper preparation.

In Sunday’s 500, he was smooth and speedy enough to finish first in 34.76 seconds, but he made clear he wasn’t pleased with that time. He planned to give himself a break for the 1,500 later Sunday but said he did plan to take part in the mass start on Monday.

“After the 1,000 yesterday, I feel pretty tried. It only took one race to get me a little tired,” he said. “But, yeah, it doesn’t matter.”

That’s because Stolz has made clear that he views these days as part of his training process a little more than a month ahead of what really matters: the Olympics.

Cooper McLeod, who was second in the 1,000, was next in the 500, 0.06 seconds behind Stolz. While three U.S. men will get berths in the 1,000 at the Olympics, Stolz was the only one assured of a spot as of Sunday.

There are other heats for the women’s and men’s 500 Monday, and each skater’s best time across the two days is what counts.

Erin Jackson, the reigning gold medalist in the women’s 500, also already had prequalified and only needed to show up at the starting line in that race. Like Stolz, she did far more than that, producing the fastest time Sunday by clocking 38.15 seconds — one day after winning the 1,000.

The American women have two spots in the Olympic 500 and the other will be settled Monday, the last day of the trials.

Sarah Warren was second-best among the women Sunday in 38.86.

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All of the opponents the Vikings will play next season are now finalized.

Most of the opponents were already known because of the rotational formula the NFL uses while putting together the schedule.

Aside from playing every team in the NFC North twice, the Vikings were slated to play every team in the NFC South and AFC East once. The final few games were determined by the same place finisher in the NFC East, NFC West, and AFC South.

Because the Vikings finished in third place in the NFC North, they will play the Washington Commanders, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Indianapolis Colts.

The full schedule will be released at some point in the spring. Here’s a breakdown of who the Vikings will play and where the games will take palce:

Home

Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts

Away

Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers,

San Francisco 49ers

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