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Ministry of Interior
Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)
Ministerio del Interior (MININT)
Total Armed Forces
(2003-2004)
PARAMILITARY1 26,500 activeSTATE SECURITY (Ministry of Interior) 20,000
BORDER GUARDS (Ministry of Interior) 6,500
about 20 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Zhuk and 3 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Stenka PFI<, plus boats
Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)
Ministerio del Interior (MININT)
Total Armed Forces
(1999-2000)
PARAMILITARY1STATE SECURITY (Ministry of Interior) 20,000
BORDER GUARDS (Ministry of Interior) 6,500
about 20 Soviet Zhuk and 3 Soviet Stenka PFI<, plus boats
(1998-1999)
PARAMILITARY1STATE SECURITY (Ministry of Interior) 15,000
BORDER GUARDS (Ministry of Interior) 4,000
about 20 Soviet Zhuk and 3 Soviet Stenka PFI<, plus boats
(1997-1998)
REVOLUTIONARY NATIONAL POLICE (Ministry of Interior) 10,000
SPECIAL BATTALION OF POLICE (Ministry of Interior) (600)
SPECIAL TROOPS (Ministry of Interior)
Photo credit: Diario Granma - 7/17/99
General Directorate of Special Troops (DGTE)
Direccion General de Tropas Especiales (DGTE)Commander, Special Troops...Division General Antonio Buzon Batle [mentioned as in Tele Rebelde - 03/12/01]
Special Troops are part of the official structure of the Ministry of the Interior and are the most highly trained of all Cuba's military personnel. It is estimated that Special Troops number 2,000 in personnel and are divided into 2 battalions. Special Troops utilize light weaponry and explosives.
They were originally created to provide for the personal security of Fidel Castro and have been involved in other important activities which include the assistance of Latin American guerrillas and to ferment insurgencies as well as charged with carrying out often politically sensitive "special operations" under the direct command of Fidel Castro. Special Troops were the first Cuban personnel that went to Angola in 1975 and were sent before the dispatch of regular FAR combat troops.
Structure and Activities
Director - 1st Chief of Operations is responsible for the deliberation, execution and control of insurgency plans in zones designated by Fidel Castro. Its structure corresponds to the intelligence functions by geographic zones. 2nd Military Chief is responsible for the readiness of combat troops of this directorate comprised of more than 1,000 officers and soldiers at its maximum level as well as the maintenance of armaments and equipment at optimal conditions. 2nd Political Chief - 2nd Administrative Chief - Department of Information - Department of Instruction and Personnel is subordinate to the 2nd Military Chief. Assistance Section - Secret Information Office (0CIC) -
Notes1. International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). 2003. The Military Balance, 2003-2004. London: IISS.; International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). 1999. The Military Balance, 1999-2000. London: IISS. pp. 236-237; International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). 1998. The Military Balance, 1998-99. London: IISS. pp. 219-220; International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). 1997. TheMilitary Balance, 1997-98. London: IISS. pp. 214-215.
Phyllis Greene Walker. 1997. "Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces: Adapting in the New Environment." In Center for Latin American Studies. Cuban Studies. Volume 26. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press. According to an April 3, 1998 article by Juan Tamayo, "Cuban spy base can pick up Miami signals", the Cuban military has long run its own smaller but much more secret version of the Russians' Lourdes electronic spying base, a unit known as the Electronic Warfare Battalion and the Interior Ministry's General Directorate for Intelligence runs a separate radio listening and transmitting post somewhere on the island, apparently to stay in touch with its spies abroad.
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