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Raúl Castro sent an official letter this Thursday to the Western Army of Cuba on the occasion of its 65th anniversary, in which he urged to continue "the work initiated" by the heroes and martyrs of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, at a time of maximum tension between the Cuban regime and the United States.
The document, bearing the caption "Year of the Centenary of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," was disseminated by the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) on social media and shared by the official account of the Presidency of Cuba.
In the letter, Castro stated that "the generous blood of its heroes and martyrs paved the way forward, and today the memory of their example serves as a valuable motivation to continue the work they began."
The commemorative event was attended by Miguel Díaz-Canel, President and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Minister of the Armed Forces, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera.
During the ceremony, awards and medals were presented, and several officials were promoted to higher ranks.
The head of the Western Army, division general Ernest Feijóo Eiró, reaffirmed his troops' commitment to remain "steadfast in our positions of combat" against what he termed a "serious threat of aggression to the Homeland."
"We will confront any plans that seek to undermine our determination to be free and independent," affirmed the senior military leadership.
In the letter, Castro also emphasized the role of the Western Army in internationalist missions and in the implementation of the doctrine of "War of the Entire People," which the regime has activated this year as a framework for preparation in the event of a conflict.
The letter is the third that Castro sends to the regional structures of the FAR in 2026: he previously congratulated the Central Army on April 3 and the Eastern Army on April 21, all with a discourse focused on the defense of the homeland against external threats.
The symbolic gesture of the historic leader of the dictatorship occurs at one of the most critical moments for the regime: the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, visited the Guantanamo Naval Base this Wednesday and warned that it would be “ill-advised” for Cuba to acquire weaponry capable of reaching that base or the continental U.S. territory.
The next day, Hegseth confirmed from Central Command in Tampa that a capture or elimination operation against Díaz-Canel "remains an option."
This escalation is framed within the reports from May 2026 that indicated Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran, which prompted the deployment of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Caribbean and the development of military action scenarios by Southern Command.
Raúl Castro, who turned 95 years old on June 3 and made a public appearance on June 5 at the Karl Marx Theater, thus maintains an active symbolic presence as an ideological backing for the regime while Cuba faces a severe crisis of blackouts, shortages, and mass migration.
The letter to the Western Army concludes with the motto "Forever victorious!", the same rhetorical formula that Castro has used in his previous communications to the FAR during this year of increasing bilateral tension.
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