The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR) published a message on its Facebook account this Saturday urging to "reject and abolish the words surrender and defeat from our military terminology, as their practice is characteristic of cowards and the demoralized," and added that "cowards receive disdain and humiliation even from their own enemies."
The post, tagged with the hashtag #FARCuba, accompanying a 30-second reel showing military maneuvers with a Soviet helicopter, does not seem to have intimidated anyone: it sparked, as has become customary, a new wave of mockery and sarcasm on social media.
The new post is the latest installment in a wartime propaganda campaign that the MINFAR has intensified throughout May 2026, featuring messages such as "For Cuba, there is no alternative, victory or death," "the order to cease fire will never be given," and short clips showing tactical drills, snipers, light machine guns, and RPG-7 rocket launchers, accompanied by warnings like: "War should not be provoked, but we will engage if the enemy imposes it."
A video from last Wednesday, the 27th, showed a Soviet Mi-8 helicopter in a supposed tactical air insertion; it garnered thousands of views and became the target of memes. Internet users quickly pointed out that the aircraft—a relic from the Cold War—looks more like something taken from a Soviet aviation museum than from a credible combat force.
This Friday didn't fare any better: "The little wheels on the helicopter remind me of my shopping cart," wrote one user. Another was more technical, though equally devastating: "Russian helicopter… highly vulnerable to electronic attacks, highly vulnerable to a modern fighter jet, highly vulnerable to a ground-launched tracking missile… In short, these people thrive on the show."
The questions came quickly as well. "Just out of curiosity, how many helicopters are we talking about?" someone asked. The collective response was immediate: "But they only have one helicopter because it's always the same one." Another internet user, with less patience, summarized the situation in four words: "Wow, look what they've done to the fumigation helicopters."
"Stop making a fool of yourselves with these pathetic videos. Have a little self-respect!" one user shot back at the MINFAR. Another was even more damning: "The FAR of Cuba wouldn't be able to handle even an invasion by Hernán Cortés if he were to return. They have prehistoric weaponry and training at level 0.0." And yet another, with a painful irony: "The soldiers are going to trade their weapons for food."
Popular sarcasm has a material basis. The FAR that have thus far upheld the regime possess aging Soviet weaponry and an air fleet with several aircraft out of service. Their air defense relies on systems considered technologically outdated, lacking access to modern platforms, and the official doctrine, known as "Total People's War," is designed for irregular resistance and wearing down the invader, not for halting precision operations or high-intensity conventional conflicts.
The Pentagon, for its part, with the most formidable military force on the planet, has been positioning troops and armaments in the Caribbean for months and is expected to launch a military attack on Cuba once President Donald Trump gives final approval, according to a report published on the 27th by Politico, authored by journalist Paul McLeary.
All of this is happening while Cuba is undergoing an unprecedented economic and social crisis, characterized by shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, prolonged blackouts, and a massive emigration that is depleting the island of the very population that the regime aims to mobilize for its "war of the entire people." "Soon they will see how it's not the same to face hungry, unarmed civilians as it is to confront real soldiers," warned another internet user, adding, "it's a shame for their youth or those whose minds have already been poisoned with their ridiculous ideas of 'revolution'."
The MINFAR has escalated its belligerent tone since at least March 2026, with messages that even involved children, apparently in response to tensions with the United States, which has increased its presence at the Guantánamo naval base. Analysts warn that the real dilemma for the FAR is not military but political: whether to continue being the pillar of the regime or to facilitate an orderly transition. Meanwhile, on social media, the public verdict has already been given: "My God, this has to be a circus."
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