Chronicle on Cuba - July 2006

Security

July 1: During the 5th Plenary Meeting of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces made a report about the state of readiness of the nation’s defense, presented by the Second Secretary of the Central Committee and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Army General Raul Castro, and approved by the Fifth Plenary Meeting. The document summarizes the results achieved since the July, 2003 Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee that analyzed this topic and the main tasks to be accomplished in such a decisive area. Defense preparation has gained in its effectiveness, both of the military personnel on active duty as well as the civilian leaders and officials and the population in general, with a more rational and efficient use of the time that Cubans devote to such a sacred duty, the report said. Also mentioned as significant are the results achieved in the preparation of the theater of military operations, as well as the study of every inch of the national territory in the interest of the defense, among other tasks of great complexity and magnitude. Also highlighted were the efforts made by a large number of businesses and other entities both military and civilian. (Granma, 3/7/06)

July 1: During a public appearance on June 29, President Hugo Chávez placed his hopes for the future of socialism in Venezuela on a movement made up of 15,000 youths trained in Cuba and organized in squadrons, who answer directly to him. For Chávez, these youths formed in Cuba are the seed of the "new man." He indicated that the15, 000 young troops are full-time members of the Francisco de Miranda Front. "We are in the second stage of their training. Recently more than 5,060 returned home after completing a training period (in Cuba). We have 5,000 there [...] in August another 5,000 will leave for Cuba," he added. (AFP, 1/7/06)

July 13: Sea, air and ground military manoeuvres by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) entered their second stage. 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. 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 defence conception. (Prensa Latina, 13/7/06)

July 18: Belarusian Defence Minister Leonid Maltsev arrived in Cuba on a three-day visit. Colonel General Maltsev toured places of historic interest and military units. The official welcoming ceremony took place in El Cacahual, Havana province, where he laid a wreath for Major General Antonio Maceo. (BelaPan, Prensa Latina, 18/7/06)

July 18: General Raul Castro, Cuba’s first Vice President and its Minister of Defence, met in Havana with the Defence Minister of Belarus, Colonel General Leonid Semionovich Maltsev, and the delegation that accompanies him on a visit to the island. The official talks also included the participation of General Alvaro Lopez Miera, FAR Chief of Staff and Victor Vasilievich Kozintsev, advisor to the Belarus Embassy in Havana. (Granma, 19/7/06)