The Metal Forming Company Noel Fernández (Conformat) in Matanzas combined its production activities with military preparedness exercises during the Strategic Exercise Moncada 2026, supervised by the President of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, Esteban Lazo.
The production and defense brigades of the factory conducted exercises on maintaining communications in wartime, assembling and disassembling rifles, and installing mines. They also demonstrated the fabrication of traps for intruders and false models made with metal scraps from the plant itself, aimed at diverting the attention of enemy troops, reported the station Radio 26.
Lazo's visit aimed to assess the province's level of preparedness in the event of an aggression. At the end of the tour, the leader described the exercise as satisfactory, according to the source.
During his visit to Conformat, Lazo also spoke with Fernando Gutiérrez Domínguez, an employee of the company with 45 years of experience, founder of the Special Troops, and a veteran of missions in Congo and Angola. The official press presented his experience as an example of the continuity between civilian production and military training.
However, the productive reality of Conformat contrasts with the military deployment. The company, which relies on imports for nearly 90% of its raw materials, plans to manufacture only 12,000 cylinders of 10 kilograms this year, despite the fact that the state-owned Cupet needs more than 500,000 units and the plant's installed capacity reaches 200,000.
The contradiction becomes particularly evident amid the liquefied gas crisis in Cuba. Cupet suspended national distribution in September due to depleted inventories, and cylinders have been sold for almost 100 dollars in the informal market.
The event was part of the Moncada Strategic Exercise 2026, taking place since November 4 under the slogan The War of Everyone: Guarantee of Victory, presented as the largest military maneuver by the regime so far this year.
The activities mobilized the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the Ministry of the Interior, militias, reservists, and civil and economic structures throughout the country, amidst a context of rising tension with Washington.
In Holguín, the Eastern Army conducted air defense exercises with simulations of enemy incursions, while the Mobile Brigade of Special Troops staged urban combat operations using reconnaissance drones and snipers.
The Army Corps General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, Chief of the General Staff, summarized the military doctrine promoted by the regime with a phrase during the exercises: "We will defend house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood, area by area."
The Cuban government declared 2026 as the Year of Preparation for Defense and promoted weekly training throughout the year, including shooting drills, ambushes, evacuations, use of drones, and deployment of anti-tank mines.
These activities are also being carried out in response to warnings from U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who noted in August that "all options, including military ones, are on the table" regarding Cuba.
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