Amidst his growing unpopularity and a deep economic and social crisis, Miguel Díaz-Canel once again appealed this Friday to “preparation for defense,” one of the pillars upon which the Cuban regime has sustained its besieged position for decades.
The leader presided over the events of National Defense Day in several Defense Zones in Marianao, Havana, where he emphasized the importance of continuing to prepare the population and members of the local defense councils, reported the official site of the Presidency of Cuba.
The event brought together key figures from the political-military apparatus of the regime: Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly; Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Party; Army Corps Generals Álvaro López Miera, Minister of the Armed Forces, and Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior; as well as Division General Amado Ricardo Guerra, Secretary of the Council of Ministers.
Alexis Pérez Batista, president of the Municipal Defense Council of Marianao, explained that among the objectives of the activities is to "enhance preparedness for armed struggle, for internal order, and for economic preparedness."
The government has sought to maintain, over all these decades, a constant mobilization of the population and the subordination of broad sectors of civil life to military and political structures.
Reinaldo Media Seja, president of the Defense Council of the Pogolotti Zone, Belén, Finlay, detailed the actions planned during the "clarification of the complete combat readiness" and the training of council members "on actions against systematic wear and enemy invasion."
The area, which is home to more than 26,000 inhabitants, combines military preparations with the search for solutions to everyday issues such as power outages, water supply, food production, and solid waste collection, all of which —according to the official discourse— is based on the activation of structures for wartime.
This approach reveals the regime's strategy of presenting territorial military structures as a tool to manage the economic crisis faced by the Cuban population, a crisis generated by decades of communist dictatorship.
In parallel, on the same Friday, similar activities were reported in Cienfuegos, where defense structures were activated and reservists were trained in Aguada de Pasajeros, in the Federal Defense Zone.
The event this Friday is the eleventh of its kind that Díaz-Canel has personally led in 2026, following similar events in Arroyo Naranjo, El Cerro, Havana del Este, and other areas of the country. On August 1st, Díaz-Canel urged young people to take advantage of the country's situation to train for defense.
The militarization campaign intensified at the beginning of the year when the regime officially declared the "Year of Preparation for Defense 2026" and announced that Saturdays would be dedicated to the weekly military preparation of the population, under the doctrine of the "War of All the People."
The regime used the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026, as a trigger to reactivate the war rhetoric and justify the swift mobilization of civilians, militias, and reservists throughout the country.
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