Mario Riva Morales, retired lieutenant colonel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of Cuba and a member of the Military Objectors of Conscience group, assured journalist Mario J. Pentón that the Cuban army “has never had and has no chance against the United States.”
The veteran revealed a little-known episode of Cuban military history. In 1983, following a crisis in Poland that led to a deterioration of the situation in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union communicated to Fidel Castro the need to reduce military support to the island.
“In that context, the doctrine of the territorial troop militia emerged, known as ‘The War of the Entire People’. That was a euphemism to avoid saying the truth: we were left with the brush in hand and no ladder,” he stated.
The so-called "People's War" became the axis of the national defense of the Cuban regime in the following decades, a strategy that, according to Riva, is completely meaningless in the current scenario.
“It is not possible for them to still be thinking in the same combat doctrine, more than half a century later,” Riva criticized and made a direct appeal to Cuban soldiers: “Do not use weapons against the people, because the people of Cuba are protesting for a just cause.”
The historical context referenced by the former Cuban official relates to Poland in 1983, when the Soviet communist regime lifted the martial law (Stan Wojenny) imposed in 1981 to crush the trade union movement Solidarity. Despite the repression, with over 10,000 imprisoned, the movement continued to operate underground and marked a key point in the struggle for freedom in Eastern Europe.
The group of Cuban Military Conscientious Objectors emerged in February 2021. It is made up of high-ranking officials from the FAR and the Ministry of Interior (MININT) who were sentenced in Cuba and are now in exile. There are also other members who remain anonymous within the island.
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