“Prepare for war, because it is the best way we have to win it.” With this phrase, a high-ranking official of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) defended the military preparations being carried out by the regime throughout the country, as Miguel Díaz-Canel personally oversaw the defense drills in the province of Artemisa.
The statement was made by Gladys Martínez Verdecia, a member of the Political Bureau and first secretary of the PCC in Artemisa, during a visit by the leader to the Provincial Defense Council on Wednesday, November 4, as reported by the Presidencia de Cuba .
The meeting was part of the Strategic Exercise Moncada 2026, held on November 4 and 5 to prepare military and civilian structures for a potential aggression.
The official explained that the authorities had been training for some time for these exercises and that the drills would improve the response capacity in the event of a possible "non-conventional war scenario".
"We had already been training for this exercise," stated Martínez, who assured that the activities would enable the leaders to better understand how each territory should function in the event of a conflict.
In Artemisa, the 68 defense zones, the 11 municipal defense councils, and ten national, provincial, and municipal entities and companies are involved.
The leader also announced that on Friday, November 6, designated as National Defense Day, eleven territorial defensive exercises will take place, one for each municipality in the province.
“All Defense Zones will conduct their defensive drills,” he pointed out, explaining that these activities aim to train the leadership and command structures in decision-making in the face of a potential enemy aggression.
During the meeting, Díaz-Canel emphasized that those in charge of the defense areas must achieve an adequate level of preparedness and be capable of working independently.
The ruler also linked military preparation with food production, one of the main challenges currently facing the Cuban population.
“Here we need to search inch by inch, so that people can plant something,” said Díaz-Canel, urging that the available land be maximally utilized through popular mobilization.
The president also addressed issues related to water supply and urged local authorities to "not accumulate problems unnecessarily" and to be "very persistent in finding solutions."
Another of his concerns was the protection of the population. According to official information, Díaz-Canel demanded that the authorities be informed in advance on how to organize that task in the event of an emergency or aggression.
Díaz-Canel's visit coincided with reports of tank and armored vehicle movements in various areas of Cuba, coinciding with the military exercises and tensions between Havana and Washington.
Among the images released in recent days is the transportation of tanks by rail in Camagüey, documented on Tuesday by independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, as well as the transport of a tracked military vehicle through an urban street.
The maneuvers officially began on Wednesday, when the Communist Party announced the start of the Moncada Strategic Exercise 2026, under the slogan "The War of All the People: Guarantee of Victory."
The operation involves the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the Ministry of the Interior, militias, reservists, civilian structures, and sectors of the economy, in accordance with the territorial defense doctrine promoted by Fidel Castro during the 1980s.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) recovered a quote from Fidel Castro regarding the supposed impotence of conventional armies in the face of irregular peasant warfare.
The quote, taken from the Second Declaration of Havana in 1962, states that conventional armies are "absolutely powerless" when fighting against irregular forces in terrain that is advantageous for the latter.
The message was disseminated alongside an image of snipers during training, as part of the military propaganda accompanying the Moncada 2026 events.
The maneuvers take place after the regime declared 2026 as the "Year of Preparation for Defense," with exercises that have included training for reservists, the use of drones, shooting practices, and simulations of confrontations in anticipation of possible enemy landings.
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