Chronicle on Cuba - December 2006

Security

December 2: Cuba's armed forces marshalled their Soviet-era arsenal in a parade to show the world, especially the arch-enemy United States, they remain a force to be reckoned with as their ailing leader Fidel Castro fades. Aged tanks, rocket launchers and MIG jet fighters roared through Havana's Revolution Square before a crowd of 300,000 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary Armed Forces' (FAR) birth as a ragtag rebel force Castro led ashore from the leaking yacht ``Granma'' on December 2, 1956. Soldiers marched past and a replica of the Granma, the yacht that carried Fidel Castro back from exile, was pulled along the street. Leading the pomp was Defense Minister and interim president Raúl Castro, accompanied by three original commanders of the Revolution: Ramiro Valdes, Juan Almeida and Guillermo García. In his speech, Army Raúl Castro Ruz said that Cuba is increasing its combat capacity and modernizing its combat equipment to guarantee the country’s defense. The parade was also scheduled to close the festivities of Fidel Castro’s 80th birthday. (The Miami Herald, BBC, Reuters, Granma International, 2/12/06)

December 4: Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces Minister Army General Raul Castro met with Angolan Defense Minister General Kundy Paihama, local mass media reported. According to a brief note and a photo published by Granma newspaper, both top leaders held a friendly and respectful conversation, characterizing relations between the two countries. (Prensa Latina, 4/12/06)

December 4: Cuba is willing to strengthen cooperation, including military cooperation, with China, the first vice-president of the Council of the State of Cuba and Defence Minister Raul Castro said, while meeting with a visiting Chinese military delegation. Raul expressed his satisfaction at the smooth development of exchanges and cooperation between the Cuban and Chinese armies in the areas of personnel and military trainings, and hoped the cooperation could be further strengthened. He also thanked the Chinese military delegation for attending the 50th anniversary commemorating the founding of Cuba's armed forces. Leader of the delegation Gen Zhao Keming conveyed the kind wishes from the Chinese people and military to the Cuban leader, Raul's brother Fidel Castro, hoping him a quick recovery from surgery.  Before the meeting, Gen Zhao also met with Alvaro Lopez Miera, chief of the General Staff of Cuba's armed forces. The two generals discussed possible cooperation between the two armies in the future. (Xinhua, 4/12/06) 

December 4: Cuban Defence Minister, Raúl Castro, met in Havana with military delegations from Vietnam and Lao invited to festivities for the 50th Anniversary of Cuban Armed Forces. Together with Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, and Fernando Remírez de Estenoz, Chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs Relations of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, Army General Raul Castro met with Lao Army General, Douangchay Phichit. Phichit is also Lao’s Defence Minister. (EER, 6/12/06)

December 10: Thousands of Cubans participated in the National Defense Days, aimed at training the population to face any possible armed aggression. The two-day exercises intend to continue improving the preparation of all Cubans involved in the Defense Councils, under the principle of the "War of the Entire People". Members of the Territorial Troop Militias, Special Troops, Production and Defense Units, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces participated in territorial defense drills. (Prensa Latina, Granma, 11/12/06)

December 20: The "Jornal do Angola" carried on its front page a report about a meeting between Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and Cuban Lieutenant General Leopoldo Cintra Frias. The main Angolan daily stated that Dos Santos and Cintra Frias reviewed relations between the two countries. The chief of the Western Army and member of the Cuban Communist Party’s Political Bureau delivered the Angolan government a message from the island’s Armed Forces Minister Raul Castro, although the source did not reveal the content. Cintra Frias arrived in Angola from South Africa, where he attended the partial opening ceremony of the Solidarity Park, to pay tribute over 2,000 Cubans fallen in the struggle for the freedom of this continent. (Prensa Latina, 21/12/06)