A video shared by the Havana Military Region shows a Cuban officer delivering an impassioned speech in which he urges "everyone who is in any corner of the planet defending the just causes of humanity" not to tire or yield.
In the event, amid the official campaign for "preparation for defense 2026" spearheaded by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the military official cited, in an energetic yet rather incomprehensible tone, a fragment from the poem To My Brothers Who Died on November 27, by José Martí, used in official rhetoric for patriotic exaltation: "When one dies in the arms of a grateful homeland / Death ends, prison breaks / Life finally begins with death!"
The video, accompanied by the institutional message "the new generations of young defenders of the homeland are willing to sacrifice their lives in defense of the homeland," triggered a wave of reactions on social media. On the page of CiberCuba Noticias on Facebook, where the clip was shared, hundreds of people left mocking comments: "Was that a speech or a spell?" "It looks like a witchcraft ritual," "Even with subtitles, it's not understandable," or "He's the first one to run when the Americans arrive." Others compared the speaker to reggaeton artists or comedic characters, illustrating how official fervor has become material for popular humor.
The viral speech emerges amid an escalating propaganda effort by the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), which has recently intensified its messaging on social media and state media. In a recent publication, the organization warned of a supposed "genocide" if socialism falls in Cuba, stating that "the flags of the Revolution and socialism will not be surrendered without a fight" and that an eventual "victory of the enemy" would result in "a pointless shedding of blood." According to another message, "no enemy will be safe in Cuba" and "every sophisticated means is vulnerable."
The new propaganda cycle includes the start of the so-called “Year of Preparation for Defense 2026”, a campaign by the FAR aimed at “strengthening military invulnerability” in the context of a severe economic crisis and social discontent. This offensive also includes a video featuring cadets in a “military fantasy” that went viral due to its ridiculous tone, as well as the maneuvers of the Western Army criticized by many Cubans who pointed out that “there is no oil for ambulances, but there is for war.”
The social reaction to these messages has largely been one of mockery, skepticism, and fatigue. In the comments on the video posted by the Havana Military Region, users criticized the "theatricality" of the speeches, the use of empty slogans, and the regime's disconnection from the reality of a country facing power outages, inflation, and widespread shortages.
While the government intensifies its calls for defense, much of the citizenry seems to respond with irony. On social media, military rhetoric no longer evokes fear or patriotic fervor, but rather laughter and bewilderment in the face of a power that continues to speak of trenches while the people struggle each day to survive.
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