# Death of Yohana Rodríguez
**Yohana Rodríguez** (born 1980 or 1981) was a Colombian street vendor and independent trader who lived in El Hatillo Municipality in Venezuela's Miranda state, near Caracas.[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/) She was killed at about 1 a.m. on 3 January 2026 when projectiles from a US strike on telecommunication towers and antennas near her home hit her and her daughter, Ana Corina Morales Sierra, who was wounded.[3](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026) • [7](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela) Aged 45 at her death, she was one of at least two civilian deaths reported for the operation, and her killing drew condemnation from Colombian president [Gustavo Petro](https://www.edgepedia.org/gustavo-petro).[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp) • [2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/) • [4](https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/Homestead%20and%20Kavanagh_Costs%20of%20War_Operations%20in%20Venezuela%20and%20Caribbean.pdf) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/7301af043813fa49d79b64bd1489e005)
She lived with her daughter in El Hatillo Municipality, in Venezuela's Miranda state, near Caracas, and died when ordnance aimed at a communications site struck her home[3](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026). Her death drew condemnation from Colombian president Gustavo Petro and became the most widely reported civilian casualty of the operation[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who she was | Colombian street vendor and independent trader, born near Cartagena in 1980 or 1981, aged 45 at her death[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/) |
| Date and place of death | Around 1 a.m. on 3 January 2026, at her home in El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda state, near a communications antenna site at Cerro El Volcán[3](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026) |
| Cause | A US strike on telecommunication towers and antennas; she was fatally hit by projectiles from a second impact near her house[7](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela) |
| Family | Single mother of three; her daughter Ana Corina Morales Sierra, 22, was wounded in a leg and hospitalized[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/) |
| Civilian toll | She was one of two civilian deaths reported for the operation, per a Costs of War assessment; the overall death toll was disputed, with figures of at least 56 to 80[4](https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/Homestead%20and%20Kavanagh_Costs%20of%20War_Operations%20in%20Venezuela%20and%20Caribbean.pdf) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/7301af043813fa49d79b64bd1489e005) |
| Burial | Buried in Venezuela on 6 January 2026; her body was not repatriated to Colombia[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/) |
## Life
She worked in Venezuela as an independent trader, selling goods in Caracas, and regularly traveled between the two countries[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp).
At the time of her death she was living on a country house in El Hatillo[3](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026).
## Death
In the early morning hours of 3 January 2026 the US military launched strikes across Venezuela and captured president [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-maduro) and his wife, Cilia Flores[5](https://apnews.com/article/7301af043813fa49d79b64bd1489e005) • [6](https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/07/venezuela-us-risks-rights-disaster). According to the civilian harm monitor Airwars, the strike near her home targeted a TV and telephone antenna at El Volcán, in El Hatillo municipality, at about 1 a.m.[3](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026).
**The sequence at the house.** Relatives told El Universal that when the pair heard loud noise they went out to the patio, where machine-gun projectiles hit them a few minutes later[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/).
While waiting for first responders, Ana Corina sent a message to a cousin in Colombia saying they were under attack and that her mother was dead[8](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/asi-fue-el-bombardeo-donde-perdio-la-vida-yohana-rodriguez-en-su-casa-en-venezuela/). Her cousin Ana Lucía Frías relayed the message to Colombian media: "Nos están atacando, ya mi mamá está muerta, prima. No sé cuándo nos volvamos a ver" ("They are attacking us, my mom is already dead, cousin. I don't know when we'll see each other again")[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp). Ana Corina was treated at a hospital and survived[4](https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/Homestead%20and%20Kavanagh_Costs%20of%20War_Operations%20in%20Venezuela%20and%20Caribbean.pdf). Because the death occurred in a military operation under judicial investigation, the body could not be repatriated, and relatives watched the burial remotely; she was buried on 6 January[2](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/).
## Reaction and context
Her death prompted widespread condemnation in Colombia. President Gustavo Petro posted a long message on X on the night of 5 January, condemning those in Colombia who celebrated the operation and addressing US president Donald Trump directly, accusing him of "murdering a Colombian mother"[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp). Relatives asked why strikes had hit points surrounded by civilians when, in their view, the target had already been located[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp).
**The wider toll.** Estimates of the operation's dead varied. A Costs of War project assessment covering August 2025 through March 2026 counted 32 Cuban personnel, at least 23 Venezuelan security officers, and at least two civilian deaths, including Rodríguez[4](https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/Homestead%20and%20Kavanagh_Costs%20of%20War_Operations%20in%20Venezuela%20and%20Caribbean.pdf). Venezuela's military announced at least 24 security officers killed, bringing its official count to at least 56, while The New York Times, citing a senior Venezuelan official, put the total at about 80[5](https://apnews.com/article/7301af043813fa49d79b64bd1489e005). Neither Venezuelan nor US authorities publicly commented on Rodríguez's death in the days after the operation[1](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp).
## References
1. [La trágica historia de Yohana Rodríguez, una colombiana que murió en los bombardeos de Trump en Venezuela, El País](https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2026-01-05/la-tragica-historia-de-yohana-rodriguez-una-colombiana-que-murio-en-los-bombardeos-de-trump-en-venezuela.html?outputType=amp)
2. [Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, la cartagenera que murió en bombardeo a Venezuela, El Universal](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/yohana-rodriguez-sierra-la-cartagenera-que-perdio-la-vida-en-bombardeo-a-venezuela/)
3. [USVEN260103b, Airwars](https://airwars.org/incidents/usven260103b-january-3-2026)
4. [Budgetary Costs of U.S. Military Operations in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and the Eastern Pacific, August 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026, Costs of War Project, Brown University](https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/Homestead%20and%20Kavanagh_Costs%20of%20War_Operations%20in%20Venezuela%20and%20Caribbean.pdf)
5. [The Latest: Venezuela says 24 security officers were killed in US operation to capture Maduro, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/7301af043813fa49d79b64bd1489e005)
6. [Venezuela: US Risks Rights Disaster, Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/07/venezuela-us-risks-rights-disaster)
7. [The Overlooked Deaths of the Attack on Venezuela | The New Yorker, newyorker.com](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela)
8. [Así fue el bombardeo donde perdió la vida Yohana Rodríguez en su casa, en Venezuela, El Universal](https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/2026/01/04/asi-fue-el-bombardeo-donde-perdio-la-vida-yohana-rodriguez-en-su-casa-en-venezuela/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Wars, campaigns, and incidents › Massacres, mass violence, and terrorist attacks › Wartime and conflict massacres › Cold War-era conflict massacres (c. 1945–1991)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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