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In the News - 2004

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• There will be Another Bastion in 2008 [Granma] 30 December 2004

• First Phase of Military Exercises Concludes  [AIN] 15 December 2004

• Tankers to the Bastion  [Granma] 09 December 2004

• Cohessivenes Sought in Military Preparation for Bastion 2004  [Granma] 08 December 2004

• North Korean and Cuban Military Chief Hold Discussions  [Granma] 25 November 2004

• North Korean, Cuban Military Leaders Vow to Defeat "US Imperialists"  [BBC] 25 November 2004

• North Korea's Top Military Officer Visits Cuba  [AFP; Granma] 24 November 2004

• High Command Reserve: Cuba's Elite Counterstrike Force  [La Nueva Cuba] 07 October 2004

• Spanish Military Builder Considers Selling to Cuba  [La Nueva Cuba] 04 October 2004

• Ukraine Arms Cuba and Venezuela  [Jane's Intelligence Digest] 17 September 2004

• Cuba Studies Military Recruitment Plan [AP] 12 July 2004

• Chinese Lt. General Welcomed at MINFAR HQ  [AIN] 07 July 2004

• Defense Minister Assumes Control of Tourism  [Granma] 06 June 2004

• Eastern Army Celebrates 43rd Anniversary  [Granma] 08 May 2004

• Chinese General Leaves for Visit to Mexico, Cuba  [PLA Daily] 13 April 2004

• Western Army Strives For An Improved Instruction Year  [Granma] 15 February 2004

• Military Takes Control of Tourism Sector  [CAFR] 12 February 2004

• Eastern Army Launches 'Defense Preparation Year' [Granma] 19 January 2004

• Central Army Begins 'Defense Preparation Year' [Granma] 15 January 2004

• PLA Military Delegation Visits Cuba [AIN] 09 January 2004

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THERE WILL BE ANOTHER BASTION IN 2008 DAAFAR pilot in a MIG cockpit during Bastion 2004 exercises.  [Photo: Granma] 20041230 —  Cuba has already begun preparations for Bastion 2008 (Stronghold 2008). Brigadier General Leonardo Andollo Valdés (Deputy, Chief of Staff—Revolutionary Armed Forces) on Wednesday evening’s nationally and internationally broadcast "The Round Table" program, pronounced that strategic exercises will be held every four years where developmental operations will take place in three territorial regions: west, center and east. Preparations are also underway for the first quarter of 2005. Although not a military secret, Andollo Valdés said that Havana (capital) is a particularly important strategic objective for the national defense. Bastión, according to the brigadier general, permitted the generalization of new tactical concepts that have been introduced in the last couple of years as a result of systematic studies and research carried out by the Defense Ministry (Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias), and the National Defense Council (Consejo de Defensa Nacional). Another notable example of Bastion was the new arms systems that are produced and/or modernized in Cuba. Source: Granma

 

 

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FIRST PHASE OF MILITARY EXERCISE CONCLUDES 20041215 —  After two stages in which participating forces gave examples of agile and coordinated capacity of response to an eventual armed aggression, the first phase of Bastion Strategic Exercise 2004 concluded Wednesday. With an end to the phase, the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR—Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias), its reserves and Territorial Militia Troops (MTT—Milicias de Tropas Territoriales) will demonstrate to have concluded its assigned tasks with a vision of reaching full combat capability. Source: AIN EASTERN ARMY HAS SATISFACTORY MARCH 20041215 —  Lt. General Ramón Espinosa Martín (Chief, Eastern Army—Ejercito Oriental) has deemed satisfactory the Army's participation in Bastion 2004. The second stage of the strategic exercise in Guantanamo province had among its principal objectives, the resounding response and immediate recuperation of combat capacity before a limited enemy air strike. Source: Granma Antiquated T-72 MBT (Main Battle Tank) emerges from tunnel where it has been held in storage and protection from  targeting.  [Photo: Granma]

 

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TANKERS TO THE BASTION 20041209 —  In the development of Bastion Strategic Exercise 2004, where the concept of War of All the People is yet again implemented, a group of tank troops will intervene. Brigadier General Eliecer Velázquez Almaguer, Chief of the Grand Tank Unit of the Glorious Combat Rescue of Sanguily (Antonio Maceo), opined: "The most that will bring attention in this exercise will be the participation of the people along with troops that will complete the tasks of defense." In the Bastion Strategic Exercise, tankers will have a fundamental place as they did decades ago on the sands of Girón Beach and in the completed international missions, and now with new methods and concepts of battle in the employment of those means. Source: Granma FAR tank unit opening fire on mock enemy target in 2002 exercises.  [Photo: Granma]

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COHESIVENESS SOUGHT IN MILITARY PREPARATION FOR BASTION 2004 20041208 — The primary tasks in preparation and combat disposition of the Revolutionary Armed Forces' (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias—FAR) Special Troops are sustained in training, maneuvers and exercises that brings cohessivenes of labor from the commands, chiefs and officials who direct in a high capacity the rapid response that can be measured in Bastion Strategic Exercise 2004.  Military exercises will be held from December 13 until the 19th with the objective to prove the cohessiveness and preparations of directors, chiefs, organs of direction, and command on all levels culminating with two national defense days that are to be held on December 18 and 19. An evaluation of combat preparation achieved by the FAR, including regular troops and reserves, Territorial Militia Troops (Milicias de Tropas Territoriales—MTT), MININT combatants, brigades of production and defense, and the rest of the defense infrastructure. Source: Granma FAR's Special Troops in training. Bastion exercises were also held in 1980, 1983 and 1986.  [Photo: Granma]

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NORTH KOREAN AND CUBAN MILITARY CHIEFS HOLD DISCUSSIONS 20041125 — Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun, Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) held talks yesterday with Lt. General (Army Corps General) Alvaro Lopez Miera, Vice-minister and Chief of the General Staff of the FAR. The encounter took place in the headquarters of the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces where other high-ranking Cuban and North Korean officers as well as Pak Tong Chu, North Korean Ambassador to Cuba. The high-ranking North Korean chief and his delegation will visit the Union of Military Industries. The delegation will also visit General Máximo Gómez Military Academy, and other economic, historical, and cultural centers of interest. Source: Granma North Korean and Cuban military chiefs met at MINFAR headquarters in Havana. [Photo: Granma]

 

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NORTH KOREAN, CUBAN MILITARY LEADERS VOW TO DEFEAT "US IMPERIALISTS" 20041125 —On the evening of 23 November, the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry of Cuba hosted a banquet for a DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) military delegation, which is visiting the Republic of Cuba. Invited to the banquet were members of a DPRK military delegation, led by Korean People's Army (KPA) Vice Marshal Comrade Kim Yong-chun, member of the DPRK National Defence Commission and chief of the KPA General Staff; and Pak Tong-chun, our country's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Cuba. Participating here were Alvaro Lopez Miera, chief of the General Staff of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces; Jose Carlos Gomez, director of the Political Department (of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba); and other generals and officers. Speeches were delivered at the banquet. Alvaro Lopez Miera, chief of the General Staff (of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces), pointed out that the DPRK military delegation's visit to Cuba was provided amid the deep interest of the two countries' leadership.  Source: Central Broadcasting Station, Pyongyang; BBC Lt. General (Army Corps General) Alvaro Lopez Miera said that Cuba and the DPRK always stand in one trench in a struggle against the US imperialists. He emphasized that the Cuban military and people will fight side by side to the end with the DPRK's military and people in the joint anti-US front in the future, as well. Source: BBC

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NORTH KOREA'S TOP MILITARY OFFICER VISITS CUBA 20041124 —  Vice Marshal Kim, chief of the general staff of the Korean People's Army, and his delegation visited the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry headed by President Fidel Castro's younger brother, Raul Castro, according to the statement released in state-run newspapers. Kim pronounced: "We feel great pride of having the Revolutionary Armed Forces as comrades in arms in the trenches of combat against  US imperialism and defense of socialism." The North Korean delegation has visited Cuban military units on the Caribbean island.  The Vice Marshal visited the Western Army's headquarters and was received by its chief, Lt. General (Army Corps General) Leopoldo Cintra Frías. He also paid a visist to an air defense brigade and a tank unit. "North Korea's top military officer Kim Yong-Chun is heading a delegation that began an official visit to communist-led Cuba on Monday, according to an official statement.  Source: AFP and Granma 20041007 HIGH COMMAND RESERVE: CUBA'S ELITE COUNTERATTACK FORCE 20041004 SPANISH MILITARY SHIPBUILDER CONSIDERS SELLING TO CUBA Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun is a member of of the National Defence Commission and his political orientation is conservative.

 

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HIGH COMMAND RESERVE: CUBA'S ELITE COUNTERATTACK FORCE 20041007 —  Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces' High Command Reserve (Reserva del Alto Mando - RAM) is composed of an armored division and all its firepower support units that form a defensive ring around the capital of Havana...The exportation of military equipment to Cuba has thus generated speculation that Cuba's armed forces are attempting to modernize their equipment and therefore, the RAM will heavily benefit from such modernization, in which its capability is fortified as the regime's principle counterattack protection force. Full Text RAM is equiped with Russian  T-72 (above) and Soviet-era T-62 main battle tanks.

 

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SPANISH MILITARY SHIPBUILDER CONSIDERS SELLING TO CUBA 20041004 —Izar, according to the online newspaper La Nueva Cuba, is considering selling naval ships to Cuba's military. The Spanish shipbuilder (Spain's leading company in the field of civil and military shipbuilding) will allegedly provide Cuba's FAR (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias—Revolutionary Armed Forces) the means to rearm and modernize its naval forces. Source: La Nueva Cuba Izar's Saeta 17 I Patrol Boat

 

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UKRAINE ARMS CUBA AND VENEZUELA 20040917 —Ukraine's arms exports last year stood at US$530-550m, an increase on the year before when they were officially recorded at $440m. This year's figures for military exports will be heavily boosted by the establishment of two new markets namely Cuba and Venezuela. Sources involved in preparing the contracts have informed JID that the first shipments of military equipment to Cuba and Venezuela are scheduled to take place sometime during September and October. Source: Jane's Intelligence Digest Are light infantry weapons coupled with small and medium sized military vehicles en route to Havana?

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CUBA STUDIES MILITARY RECRUITMENT PLAN 20040712 (Havana) —Cuba has ordered a study of its military recruitment program, hoping to enlist more young men in the armed forces during a period in which authorities say they are increasingly concerned about a U.S.-led military attack.  A special commission to "study, propose and control (military) recruitment policies and their ties with the nation's education program" will be created under a decree signed July 2 by President Fidel Castro and his brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro. Source: AP Cuban soldiers marching.

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CHINESE LT. GENERAL WELCOMED AT MINFAR HQ 20040707 (Havana) —Lt. General Zhang Wentai, political commissar of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army PLA was met by Lt. General Julio Casas Regueiro (First Vice Minister, FAR) who reiterated the military collaboration received from the Asia nation whose help is rooted from the 1960s when specialists contributed to the preparation of combat pilots and the distribution of arms to Cuban land forces. Also present at the exchange were Brigadier Generals José Carrillo Gómez (Chief, Political Direction FAR), Orlando Almaguel Vidal (Chief, Logistics FAR), and other high-ranking officials. Source: AIN Chinese military delegation confer with Cuban military officials at MINFAR headquarters in Havana. [Photo: Granma]

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DEFENSE MINISTER ASSUMES CONTROL OF TOURISM 20040609 (Havana) — Army General Raúl Castro (Defense Minister - MINFAR) has personally assumed supervision of the tourism industry, a key sector of the Cuban economy. The defense minister was filmed in an hour long video (circulating since May within political circles and those with economic responsibility) during a speech he gave at a Management Council of the Tourism Ministry (MINTUR) meeting where he openly criticized the administration of the sector in the last couple of years, and revealed that he will directly attend to the development of this industry that brings more dollars to the national economy ($2 billion annually, more that sugar, nickel and tobacco exports combined). Castro insists that the new direction does not imply a militariztion of tourism, however, numerous businessmen perceive it as such and have baptized the new ministry as MILTUR. Source: El Pais See related story: Military Takes Total Control of Tourism Sector - Feb. 12, 2004 Raúl Castro is the world's longest serving defense minister. [Photo: La Hora]

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EASTERN ARMY CELEBRATES 43RD ANNIVERSARY 20040508 (Santiago de Cuba) — Cuba's Eastern Army was paid homage to for its 43rd anniversary on April 22 in a cultural-politico ceremony and military review.  Founded on April 21, 1961, the Eastern Army was integrated by early Rebel Army combatants.  The ceremony was presided by members of the Politburo, Lt. General Ramón Espinosa Martín (Chief, Eastern Army), and other government officials. The military review was headed by the General Staff.   Source: Granma Cuba's Eastern Army under review.

 

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CHINESE GENERAL LEAVES FOR VISIT TO MEXICO, CUBA 20040413 — Xu Caihou, a member of the Central Military Commission and director of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, left here Sunday for an official goodwill visit to Mexico and Cuba.  Xu and his party are making the visit at the invitation of the Mexican National Defense Ministry and the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.  Sources: PLA Daily PLA Banner

 

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WESTERN ARMY STRIVES FOR AN IMPROVED INSTRUCTION YEAR  20040215 — Results from  troops' combat and mobilization preparations of Cuba's Western Army (Ejército Occidental) were made known in a military ceremony held in Havana province marking the beginning of the defense preparation year in which Army Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frías's (Chief, Western Army) speech was read.  At the conclusion of the ceremony there was a military review and in attendance were Party and provincial government leaders, high-ranking officials and chiefs of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). Military review during the 40th Anniversary of the Western Army in June 2001. [Photo: Granma]

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MILITARY TAKES TOTAL CONTROL OF TOURISM SECTOR  20040212 — The Politburo of Cuba's Communist Party has proposed and the Council of State has decided to "release" Ibrahim Ferradáz García from his functions as minister of tourism and appoint Manual Marrero Cruz to that post.  Marrero is the Executive President of the Gaviota Tourism Group (GTG) and for the past 10 years has been responsible in the island’s investment process, hotel management and the leadership of provincial organizations. GTC is a private corporate complex controlled by active officers and retired officers (Raúlistas) of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). Gaviota has grown, since its inception in 1988, from a mere 164 rooms to 7146 – 85 percent four- and five-star category and all built with Cuban capital.   Manuel Marrero Cruz [Photo: Sol y Son]

 

 

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EASTERN ARMY LAUNCHES 'DEFENSE PREPARATION YEAR' 20040119 — The Eastern Army in a political-cultural ceremony and military review held in Camagüey began the FAR's 'Defense Preparation Year'.  The ceremony was presided by Army Corps General Ramón Espinosa Martín (Chief, Eastern Army— FAR).  Also in attendance were the first secretaries of the Party from the provinces of Guantánamo, Granma, Las Tunas and Camagüey, the chief of the Political Direction of the FAR, Division General Sixto Batista Santana, and chiefs and officials from the Eastern Army.  Source: Granma Military review of the Eastern Army. [Photo: Granma]

 

 

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CENTRAL ARMY BEGINS 'DEFENSE PREPARATION YEAR' 20040115 — A cultural-military ceremony launching the 'Defense Preparation Year' in the FAR's Central Army took place today in Matanzas Province.  Army Corps Generals Álvaro López Miera (Deputy Defense Minister and Chief, General Staff—FAR) and Joaquín Quintas Solá (Chief, Central Army—FAR) presided over the event that took place in a tank unit. Management of armaments and of combat techniques demonstrations were conducted.  Source: AIN Tank Unit

 

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