Tanks transported by rail and armored vehicles moving through urban streets are some of the images captured in Cuba in recent days, a display of military equipment that coincides with the start of the Moncada 2026 Strategic Exercise, the largest military drill by the regime this year, amid heightened tensions with Washington.
The independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada documented this Wednesday the transfer of war tanks along the railway line in Camagüey.
"Right now: transfer of war tanks via the railway line in Camagüey heading towards the West of the country," was written in his usual section #TanteandoCuba.
A second visual recording, also released on Wednesday, shows an armored tracked vehicle —painted in military green and equipped with what appears to be a multiple rocket launcher of likely Soviet origin— being transported on a red trailer through an urban street.
That second video was posted on X by the user @DiazVismar38292, who accompanied it with the description: "Cuba shifts its military pieces in response to President Trump's threats and political tensions."
Both records coincide with the start of the Moncada Strategic Exercise 2026, which began on Wednesday and is expected to conclude this Thursday, with the National Defense Day scheduled for Friday.
The operation mobilizes the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), militias, reservists, civil structures, and economic sectors throughout the national territory, under the doctrine of the "War of All the People."
On the day the exercise commenced, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) released a quote from the late dictator Fidel Castro about irregular warfare and the vulnerability of conventional armies, a gesture that analysts interpret as a political message aimed at Washington.
Military exercises in Cuba and their historical context
Cuban strategic exercises have their roots in the doctrine of the "War of All the People," conceived in the 1980s as the regime's response to the conventional superiority of the United States.
The first Bastión exercise took place in 1980, followed by editions in 1983 and 1986. After an 18-year hiatus, the regime resumed these types of maneuvers in 2004, during the presidency of George W. Bush and after the Black Spring of 2003. It was conducted again in 2009, 2013, and 2016.
The Moncada 2026 takes place amid the highest tension with the United States in decades. On January 12, Cuba declared the "Year of Preparation for Defense," with weekly training sessions that include shooting, ambushes, evacuations, the use of drones, and the placement of anti-tank mines.
The U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, warned from the USS Gridley destroyer in August that "all options, including military ones, are on the table" and that Cuba was "on notice."
The Guantanamo naval base also recently conducted the anti-drone exercise "No Fly Zone" and reported it on social media on November 3, indicating that both sides are simultaneously escalating their military stance.
On October 23, during a rally in Florida, President Donald Trump once again raised the possibility of bringing U.S. warships close to the shores of Cuba following operations in Iran and then sending Marco Rubio to "seal the deal" with Havana.
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