The Prevention Troops of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), known as the "red berets" and noted for their involvement in the repression against Cubans, vowed to continue defending "a socialism that is increasingly just, prosperous, and sustainable" during the official ceremony for the 45th anniversary of that force.
The statement was disseminated in a report by the National Television News (NTV) about the political event and military ceremony held for the establishment of the Prevention Troops, founded on September 11, 1981, by the initiative of Raúl Castro.
"We will never betray the trust placed in us and [...] we will live up to the heroes and martyrs of the homeland who shed their blood for our independence, for a socialism that is increasingly just, prosperous, and sustainable," stated Brigadier General Félix Armando Torres Lauzao during the ceremony, on behalf of the fighters and civilian workers of the unit.
The statement comes at a particular moment for the Cuban regime, as its own economic model is facing scrutiny due to the transformations announced by the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel and the increasing space granted to market mechanisms and the private sector.
In June, the authorities approved a package of 176 economic and social transformations aimed at pulling the country out of a crisis characterized by a lack of foreign currency, a decline in production, blackouts, inflation, and a deterioration of living conditions.
Among the announced measures are greater involvement of the non-state sector, changes related to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), the introduction of new financial mechanisms, and increased opportunities for interaction between private capital, foreign investment, and the state-controlled economy.
The reforms have sparked a debate about the extent to which the regime is introducing mechanisms traditionally associated with market economies while insisting on preserving the socialist system.
The Cuban economist Pedro Monreal has questioned various aspects of the government's economic program and its coherence, while other voices have pointed out the similarities of several reforms with tools characteristic of capitalism.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz stated at the end of July that Cuba was not "deviating" from its socialist model, while Díaz-Canel also responded to the criticisms and asserted that the economic transformations "are not for more capitalism".
The insistence of the ruling elite to clarify this point highlights the political sensitivity of a debate that touches on one of the ideological pillars used for decades to justify the Cuban economic system.
In that context, the Prevention Troops took advantage of their anniversary to reaffirm their commitment to socialist continuity.
The event was accompanied by a message from Raúl Castro, who congratulated the members of the unit for their "iron discipline" and "high professionalism," and emphasized that they remain "steadfast and unbreakable" in the face of what he termed "hostile actions orchestrated by the enemies of the Revolution."
"In close unity with the Ministry of the Interior, they have dedicated their daily efforts to the protection of the population and to ensuring peace and public safety," Castro asserted in a letter read during the ceremony and broadcast by state television.
The official version contrasts with the repressive history attributed to that force.
The Prevention Troops are subordinated to the Cuban military structure, and among their functions is support for Military Counterintelligence, a task that the NTV report itself highlighted among the missions carried out by the unit during its 45 years of existence.
His role gained particular prominence after the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021, when police, military forces, and groups mobilized by the regime were deployed against thousands of Cubans who took to the streets in various towns across the country.
In August of that year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury
Human Rights Watch also documented arbitrary detentions and abuses committed by Cuban security forces during the government's response to those protests.
The ceremony for the 45th anniversary was presided over, among other high-ranking officials, by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera; the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas; and the First Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces and Chief of the General Staff, Roberto Legrá Sotolongo.
Raúl Castro also approved, at the request of the minister of the Armed Forces, the delivery of a replica of the Granma yacht to the Prevention Troops for their history of service to the so-called "socialist homeland."
The event thus presents a significant image of the moment Cuba is experiencing: while the government introduces economic reforms that expand the role of market mechanisms and is compelled to deny that they represent a step towards capitalism, one of the forces associated with its repressive apparatus promises to continue defending socialism and the continuity of the political system.
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