While the Cuban regime once again calls upon the population to participate in "military preparation" exercises with prop rifles and a setting that seems stuck in the Cold War, the United States is moving in the opposite direction: an accelerated modernization process of its military power, driven by multimillion-dollar investments and a defense industry that is fully expanding following the triumph represented by the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.
This weekend, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces began a new edition of the so-called National Defense Day, a series of exercises and propaganda events through which the regime claims to be prepared to repel "any aggression".
The images disseminated by state media and official accounts depict a display characterized by rusty rifles, old masks, dusty machine guns, and civilians posing with weaponry that resembles a military museum more than an army ready to face contemporary scenarios.
The slogans accompanying these scenes—"our defense is unwavering," "we know no fear," "the trench is in every neighborhood"—reflect a rhetoric inherited from the last century, repeated mechanically.
All of this while the country faces prolonged blackouts, a shortage of medications, and an economic crisis that shows no signs of relief.
For many Cubans, these exercises are merely a performance that wastes time and resources without providing real solutions to everyday problems.
The contrast becomes more evident when observing what happens to the north of the Caribbean.
After the U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump emphasized the superiority of his country's army and announced that the military budget for 2027 will increase from one trillion to 1.5 trillion dollars, arguing that there are "real threats" that require high-level technological and strategic responses.
At the same time, the Department of Defense launched the "Arsenal of Freedom 2026" tour, a campaign that showcases the industrial and technological capabilities of the American military complex.
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has emphasized that the goal is to ensure that fighters are equipped with gear manufactured in the United States, produced on a large scale and with standards of speed and lethality that are unmatched.
"Today we begin the 2026 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour, which will last for a month. American manufacturing. Made in the United States. Speed, scale, and lethality unmatched for the American fighter," Hegseth said on X.
"In the entire country, we are urgently working to ensure that our fighters have the equipment they need to win: fully committed, in full production, and proudly made in the United States," he added in another tweet.
As part of that modernization offensive, Hegseth visited key shipyards and industrial centers, including Newport News Shipbuilding, the only company in the country that designs and constructs aircraft carriers and a supplier of submarines for the U.S. Navy.
Currently, more than 40 ships are under construction or being modernized, while projects like the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), touted as the most lethal in the world, and the submarines of the Columbia and Virginia classes are progressing.
These investments and deployments not only strengthen Washington's military supremacy but also occur at a particularly delicate moment for Havana.
The Cuban regime, which has maintained an authoritarian system for over six decades that limits freedoms and keeps the population under constant pressure, now faces a more fragile situation than ever: the loss of external support, the energy crisis, and the direct impact of the operation in Caracas, where at least 32 Cuban soldiers died while protecting the Venezuelan dictator.
In that context, actions such as National Defense Day are more an attempt to reaffirm internal political control than a genuine preparation for an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.
While the United States strengthens its capabilities in air defense, cybersecurity, hypersonic weaponry, and artificial intelligence, and showcases new aircraft carriers and submarines, Cuba continues with its old, frail, and tired militiamen, armed with berets and rifles.
The scene encapsulates a paradox: on the Island, the population is called to "defend the homeland" with obsolete weapons and repeated speeches, while on the other side of the Florida Strait, billions of dollars are being invested in cutting-edge military technology.
Two models, two historical periods, and a gap that once again reveals the distance between the propaganda of the dictatorship and the reality of its military capability at a time when its stability depends, more than ever, on external factors that it no longer controls.
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