ISTANBUL

US Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Cuba’s “days are numbered,” following a US military operation that Washington described as a “large-scale strike,” which resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

“Just wait for Cuba. Cuba is a communist dictatorship that has killed priests and nuns, they have preyed on their own people, their days are numbered,” Graham told reporters Sunday on Air Force One while traveling with US President Donald Trump.

"We're going to wake up one day, I hope in 2026, in our backyard we're going to have allies in these countries doing business with America, not narco-terrorist dictators killing Americans,” he added.

On Saturday, Trump announced that the US military action on Venezuela resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, also pledging to assert American control over the country for the time being, with US troops if necessary.

Maduro and Flores were brought to New York late Saturday and are being held at a detention center in Brooklyn. They face US federal charges tied to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations.

Maduro has denied the accusations, and officials in Caracas have called for the couple’s release.

Cuba also announced Sunday that 32 of its combatants were killed during US intervention in Venezuela, with President Miguel Diaz-Canel declaring Jan. 5 and 6 national days of mourning.