Cuban Armed Forces Review

In the News - 2006

1998

1999

CUBA VOWS TO BOLSTER 'COMBAT CAPACITY'


Cuba's Raul Castro vows to prepare the military for a potential US invasion, but some experts say the show of force is really intended to ensure a smooth transition at home after Fidel's death. [Photo: Reuters]

20060903 1328Z — Cuban transitional leader Raul Castro has vowed to bolster the nation's "combat capacity" under his watch by activating thousands of armed militiamen, special troops and reservists in preparation for a possible attack from the US. Raul Castro, the brother of Fidel and also the country's defense minister, made certain in his first public remarks since assuming the reins of the communist island in late July that the world knew the 47-year-old Castro "revolution" was firmly in tact.

"I decided to substantially raise our combative capacity and readiness," Raul said in the pages of the official government newspaper Granma, where he made his first public comments since his brother stepped down reportedly due to a gastro-intestinal illness. So far, observers and residents have reportedly noticed little change in the day-to-day politics in Cuba, other than the increased presence of additional troops and police on the streets of the capital Havana and throughout the country.

The 75-year-old Raul, who helped his 80-year-old brother lead the Cuban revolution in 1959, said it was "not my intention to exaggerate the danger," though stressed that his administration would not be cowered by Washington's "interventionist policy," referring to the recent US government report detailing the Bush administration's plan for assisting Cuba in the event of a future democratic transition. Just how deep Raul's commitment goes to repelling a possible US invasion is a matter of speculation among Cuba experts and exiles. While the White House maintains it is not interested in using military force to promote change in Cuba, officials in Havana maintain they are prepared for the event - just in case.

Some analysts stand by the theory that Raul has the full backing of the military due to his long tenure as defense minister, though others surmise there could be a power struggle once Fidel dies and Raul is forced to stand alone. Brian Latell, a former national intelligence officer for Latin America from 1990-1994 and author of a Raul Castro biography, surmised that the real reason behind Raul's decision to ensure that Cuba was combat-ready was to make sure a transition would go unchallenged at home. "Those additional troops aren't out there to prevent against a US invasion. They're there to make sure that the transition holds," Latell told ISN Security Watch. Source: ISN Security Watch

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CUBA DEMOBILISING THOUSANDS OF RESERVE TROOPS

Thursday, 20060817 1516 UTC — Cuba has started demobilising thousands of reserve troops on alert since President Fidel Castro temporarily handed power to brother Raul Castro for health reasons, Communist Party sources say. The alert for civilian rapid response brigades in case of domestic unrest was also winding down, the sources said. "They are organising meetings this week in the neighbourhoods to honour the reservists," a mid-level party official in Havana said. The winding down of the alert was the latest indication an ailing Castro was recovering and Cuba was calm with Raul Castro in charge. Castro, 80, handed power to his younger brother and Defence Minister on July 31 after undergoing surgery for intestinal bleeding. Earlier this week, the official media showed the first pictures and video of a frail, but apparently recovering Cuban president, in power for 47 years. Castro's exact ailment, daily progress and whereabouts are being treated as state secrets. "This is not the first time we have mobilised the military reserves to strengthen the country's defences due to constant threats from the US government," the party member said, asking that his name not be used. Source: Reuters

CUBAN DEFENSE MINISTER MAKES PUBLIC APPEARENCE


Army General Raúl Castro receives Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. This might be the first time both Chavez and Raúl Castro are photographed together. [Photo: Reuters]

Sunday, 20060813 2021 UTC — AP reports "acting Cuban President Raúl Castro appeared in public for the first time on Sunday, receiving Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Cuban state television images showed. Chavez arrived in Havana to visit his political ally Fidel Castro on his 80th birthday. The Cuban leader relinquished power to his younger brother Raúl on July 31 due to stomach surgery."

Chavez' arrival in Havana has sparked speculation that the civil-technocrats have gained the upper hand over the military in the power struggle in Cuba. Lage, Alarcon and their possible alliance with Raúl Castro's bitter enemy Ramiro Valdes, have sought out Hugo Chavez as an ally and broker of power.

Will this alliance fare well with the Cuban military high command, whom view Chavez as a failed soldier who could not carry out a succesful coup in Venezuela with certain disdain and allow unwarranted meddling in the succession process, let alone follow orders from Caracas?

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CUBA'S NEXT DEFENSE MINISTER?

Chief of the General Staff and Army Corps
General Alvaro López Miera. [Photo: Granma]

Sunday, 20060806 1846 UTC — Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party, published yesterday an interview with Deputy-Defense Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Chief of the Gerneral Staff of the FAR, Army Corps General General Alvaro López Miera with parts taken from the book Secrets of Generals (Secretos de Generales) written by Luis Baez and published in 1997. According to the piece, López Miera was abroad in international missions of the FAR: Angola (1975) and Ethiopia (1977). He participated in the revolutionary struggle against Batista. He joined the Rebel Army towards the end of 1958 and formed part of the Frank País Second Eastern Front. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and deputy to the National Assembly of the People’s Power. He has filled, among others, the following positions: Commander of the Reactive Artillery Group, Artillery Brigade Commander, Commander of the Motorized Infantry Division, Chief of Staff of the Eastern Army, Deputy Chief of Staff, Commander of the Operations Division. He accomplished an internationalist mission in the People’s Republic of Angola and in the Republic of Ethiopia as commander of different land artillery units, and later once again in Angola as Chief of Staff of the Cuban Military Mission and Commander of the 30th Tank Brigade during the offensive in the Southwestern Front in 1987. He has been awarded the title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba. López Miera is a close and loyal ally of Army General Raul Castro, sparking the speculation that he might succeed Raul as defense minister of the armed forces. Source: Granma, www.cubagob.cu, La Nueva Cuba, El Nuevo Herald.

CUBAN MILITARY IN HIGHTENED STATE OF ALERT

Military reservists walk through a street in Havana. [Photo: Reuters]

Saturday, 20060805 0235 UTC — The government, under the control of Castro's brother, Defense Minister Raúl Castro, has mobilized citizen defense militias and asked military reservists to check in daily. Most of the reservists mobilized were from the Special Troops (Brigade, Regiment and Battalion), an elite force trained for commando operations as well as the protection of senior government officials. There has been a "massive mobilization of troops throughout the entire country." This mobilization signals a message to the United States that the Cuban nation will thwart any external armed aggression. However, this also might be a message to the civil-technocrats within the Cuban government that the armed forces are in full control of the country and its defense minister Army General Raúl Castro is in full command of the military. Source: AP, BBC, Miami Herald

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Special Forces troops training during Bastion 2004. [Photo: Reuters]

Cuban Special Forces are elite troops comprised of 1500 men — specialized in unconventional warfare. Their principal mission is repel an armed attack by a foreign invader in the capital of Havana without relying on the armed forces as well as quelling any uprisings in the capital. There are a total of 16 regiments (consisting of four battalions and commanded by a colonel) whereby each province has its own regiment in to addition units placed around Havana. 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. The chief of the Special Forces Directorate is Division General Antonio Enrique Lussón Batlle.

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RAUL CASTRO MEETS WITH BELARUS DEFENSE MINISTER

Army General Raul Castro converses with Col. Gen. Leonid Semionovich Maltsev of Belarus. [Photo: Granma]

20060719— Gen. Raul Castro, Cuba’s first Vice President and its Minister of Defense, met Tuesday in Havana with the Defense Minister of Belarus, Col. Gen. Leonid Semionovich Maltsev, and the delegation that accompanies him on a visit to the island. The exchange between the two high ranking military officers took place in the friendly atmosphere that characterizes relations between the two nations. The Belarusian expressed his satisfaction for being in Cuba and having the opportunity to see the achievements of the Cuban Revolution and the experiences of its Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). The official talks also included the participation of Gen. Alvaro Lopez Miera, FAR Chief of Staff and Victor Vasilievich Kozintsev, advisor to the Belarus Embassy in Havana. The Belarus Defense Minister, who arrived in Cuba on Monday, also visited the monument complex dedicated to Cuban independence hero Gen. Antonio Maceo Grajales and his aide Capt. Francisco Gomez Toro. Source: Granma

BELARUSIAN MINISTER NOTES CUBAN WEAPONS

20060719— Belarusian Defense Minister Col. Gen. Leonid Maltev praised the progress of armament modernization of the Cuban Army and the concept of the War of All the People in Cuban national territory, in his second day visiting the Island. Maltev toured a Cuban industrial military enterprise dedicated to the modernization and production of different means of combat for the defense of the island. The minister was accompanied by Alvaro Lopez Miera, vice minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) General Major Staff, and visited the seat of the Cuban Western Army´s Major Staff. Maltev and Lopez Miera were received by Army General and Cuban Western Army Chief Leopoldo Cintra Frias, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, who gave them information on the structures and main missions of the Western Army. Cuban Div. Gen. Ermio Hernandez Rodriguez gave Maltev an extensive explanation on FAR´s experiences in organizing the territorial defense system. Source: Prensa Latina

CUBAN ARMY STAGES WAR GAMES

A command group reviewing unit positions. [Photo: Granma]

20060712— Sea, air and ground military maneuvers by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) entered their second stage on Thursday. FAR ground troops, regular and people´s forces of the Revolutionary Navy, members of the territorial militias and the Production and Defense Brigades are participating in the exercises held in the western zone and scheduled to end Friday. Special troops carried out missions backed by small infantry units, while tanks and artillery jointly operated with other equipment. The goal of these “Anniversary 53 of the Attack on Moncada Garrison” war games is to prepare Cubans for night fighting and continue improving Cuba´s defense conception. Source: Prensa Latina

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ARMY GENERAL VISITS DIFFERENT DEFENSE TERRITORIES

Army General Raul Castro holds a modified Cuban version of the Kalashnikov AK-47. [Photo: Granma]

20060617 — "I am very pleased with all I have seen here, just as on my previous visits to the Eastern and Western armies. You deserve praise for your achievements, and I will report this to the Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro. At the same time, we are aware of what is still to be done," said Minister of Defense Raul Castro after concluding his visit to territories of the Central Army. Accompanied by party leaders and military commanders, Raul Castro evaluated the fulfilment of the agreements made in the Extraordinary Plenary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in July 2003, as well as Fidel Castro’s recommendations made during the Bastion 2004 Strategic Military Maneuvers and new tasks demanded due to the complex international situation. Previously visited were the Eastern Army in April, the Western Army in May, and other facilities and institutions directly subordinate to the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). The Revolution’s Major Juan Almeida Bosque, Vice-president of the Council of State, Army Corps General Alvaro Lopez Miera, FAR Vice Minister and Chief of the General Staff, and other high-ranking FAR officials joined Raul Castro in this extensive and thoroughgoing verification of how Cuba’s concept of "People’s War" is put into practice. Also participating in the visit to each territory were Army Corps Generals Ramon Espinosa Martin, Leopoldo Cintra Frias and Joaquin Quintas Sola —commanders of the Eastern, Western and Central armies respectively— as well as each of the presidents of the Defense Councils of the provinces visited. "We are doing well and we’ll do better from now on. These words of the Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro, referring to the country in general, are also valid for the field of defense, where the conditions for new and important steps forward are given," said Raul, summarizing the spirit of the intense working sessions undertaken in nine military regions. Source: Granma

CUBAN DEFENSE MINISTER: COMMUNIST PARTY IS THE ONLY DIGNIFIED SUCCESSOR OF FIDEL CASTRO

Army General Raul Castro gives a speech in a ceremony celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Western Army. [Photo: El Habanero]

20060614 — Cuba´s First Vice President, Army General Raul Castro, said the cost for the United States for an aggression against the Island would be higher than what Washington may be ready to pay. At a ceremony for the 45th anniversary of the Western Army on Wednesday, Raul Castro, also Cuban Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, recognized the results achieved by the Cuban people in their preparation for defense. The Cuban leader further added that Cuba's Communist Party is the only dignified successor of Fidel Castro. Our certainty of victory, he said, is based on the blood of the fallen and the sweat poured by those Cubans who have worked to make our main objective, that of avoiding war, a reality. The Western Army was founded on June 14, 1961. Source: Terra Espana, PL

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SOUTHCOM CHIEF WANTS REVIEW OF CUBA POLICY

General Bantz J. Craddock [Photo: US Dept. of Defense]

20060528 — The outgoing head of the Miami-based Southern Command, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, said Thursday he favors re-examining a longstanding ban on most contacts between the U.S. and Cuban militaries. The comments came just days before President Bush is to receive a major report on U.S. policy toward Cuba, coordinated by the State Department but with inter-agency input, including the Department of Defense. ''I don't want to make a judgment on whether or not to change [the policy], but I think it needs to be re-looked,'' Craddock said in response to a question during a briefing for a small group of reporters. Some of Craddock's predecessors at Southcom, in charge of U.S. military activities in most of Latin America, have voiced similar opinions, but only after retiring. The Bush administration and some of its predecessors have opposed military-to-military contacts with the island. Critics of the U.S. ban have argued that the U.S. military should have regular channels of contacts with their Cuban counterparts, to allow for clear communications in case of instability on the island. U.S. and Cuban military officers meet regularly along the fence surrounding the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo, but those talks are focused on purely local issues. Source: The Miami Herald

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DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH WESTERN MILITARY COUNCIL

Military Council of the Western Army [Photo: Granma]

20060224 — Defense Minister and Army General Raul Castro stressed that the prospects of the country, which are being achieved mainly due to energy savings, demand even greater attention be paid to defense tasks. Under this premise, the Military Council of the Western Army convened by its chairman, Army Corp General Leopoldo Cintra Frias, conducted a thorough and critical assessment of the results achieved during the Combat Readiness Year 2005. The important meeting, held at the Military Council's headquarters in Havana, was attended by Political Bureau Members, Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque, and Pedro Saez Montejo, Communist Party Leader in the Cuban capital. General Raul Castro congratulated the members of the Army when he said "a noticeable leap forward has been made." This, he said, is confirmed by the progress made in combat capacity and readiness, and the training of personnel, including the updating of knowledge about our defense conceptions provided to reserve and territorial militia officers, and Party and Government cadres of the territory. Special attention was paid to the measures adopted to reduce vulnerabilities, and with them the risks, stemming from the occurrence of catastrophes or natural disasters. In this regard, Gen. Raul Castro highlighted how the increasing comprehensive educational background of the soldiers is having a positive impact in both combat readiness and military discipline. Juan Contino Aslan, vice president of Havana's Defense Council, briefed participants about the main economic, political and social indicators of the province. In 2005, he said, 73 projects within the various programs were completed, mainly related to healthcare and education. He also noted that many actions have been undertaken as part of the energy revolution underway in the country, and as part of the efforts to turn Havana City into an unconquerable fortress. Present at the Military Council meeting were Gen. Alvaro Lopez Miera, Armed Forces vice minister and chief of its Joint Chief of Staff, along with other high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces, and Jaime Crombet, vice president of the Cuban parliament, and the chair and vice chairpersons of the defense councils of the western provinces and the Isla de la Juventud. Source: AIN

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