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The National Staff of the Civil Defense of Cuba created a "Family Guide for Protection Against Military Aggression" in April 2026, a nine-page document with the motto "Protect, resist, survive, and overcome" that instructs Cuban families on how to survive aerial bombardments using the resources available to them.
The document, drafted by the National Headquarters of Civil Defense in April 2026, was made public accidentally.
Yudelkis Ortiz, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Granma, chaired the Provincial Defense Council meeting on Tuesday, where the massive distribution of the guide was evaluated. The official shared the meeting's results on Facebook and then deleted the post, suggesting that she disclosed something that was not authorized to be made public at that time.
The guide instructs each family to prepare an emergency backpack that should include: candles, matches, a lighter, a flashlight, a radio with alternative power, non-perishable food for three days, a container of drinking water, and medications for chronic illnesses, among other items.
In the event of an air raid alert, the document instructs to take shelter in "basements, semi-basements, tunnels, and trenches with depths that provide protection from the blast wave". It also advises not to leave these places until a cease alarm notice is received.
If there is not enough time to reach a shelter, the guide specifies that individuals should lie face down, protect their heads, and open their mouths to reduce the damage from the shockwave in the event of an explosion from any device.
The most controversial aspect is preparing the first aid kit recommended by the authorities, as it includes painkillers such as dipyrone, paracetamol, and aspirin, antihistamines, gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, and masks. In most Cuban households, there are none of these essential resources for surviving in situations of armed conflict.
The guide also details how to apply tourniquets: they should be placed 6 centimeters above the bleeding site and can be kept tightened for between two and six hours.
The distribution of the document is carried out through the movement "My Neighborhood for the Homeland," the Community Youth Network, and meetings in workplaces, educational institutions, and residential areas in the province of Granma.
Ortiz justified the initiative with these words before deleting his post: "The best way to avoid war is by preparing ourselves. That idea, that concept, we are implementing in Granma."
Context in which the "Family Guide for Protection against a Military Aggression" appears
The regime declared 2026 as the "Year of Preparation for Defense" and since January 11, established Saturdays as permanent military training days for the civilian population, with exercises that included the use of AK-47 rifles, drones, anti-tank mines, and oxen teams for road blockades.
The most recent trigger was a statement from President Donald Trump on May 2 in Palm Beach: "We will be taking Cuba almost immediately. Cuba has problems."
Díaz-Canel warned that Trump "escalates his threats of military aggression against Cuba to a dangerously unprecedented level" and stated that "no aggressor, no matter how powerful, will find surrender in Cuba."
Raúl Castro, for his part, sent letters to the Central Army and the Eastern Army in April calling to "firmly confront any enemy aggression."
Ortiz's figure adds a layer of irony to the episode: two days before presiding over the Defense Council meeting, the PCC secretary in Granma attended a spiritual cord in Bayamo to "ward off" external threats against Cuba.
The distribution of the guide in Granma—historically symbolic province as the birthplace of the Castro guerrilla—falls within the doctrine of "Total People's War."
This doctrine was formalized in 1980 and is regulated by Law No. 75 of National Defense from 1994, which establishes that every citizen must have "a place, a means, and a way" to confront a military aggression— a narrative that the regime has historically used to mobilize the population and justify internal political control.
The guide itself summarizes the regime's logic: "With the same dedication and discipline that we have prepared to face natural disaster events, we must prepare to protect life if the enemy attacks us militarily."
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