The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, congratulated the members of the Military Counterintelligence (CIM) this Saturday on the 64th anniversary of its founding, with a message emphasizing their "absolute loyalty" to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and to the "work of the Revolution," accompanied by a video of Fidel Castro.
The statement once again highlights the emphasis that the official discourse places on the political loyalty of military structures, amid the profound economic and social crisis the country is facing.
"We congratulate the men and women of Military Counterintelligence on the 64th anniversary of its creation. We know they will continue to preserve, with absolute loyalty, the security of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the achievements of the Revolution," wrote Marrero Cruz under the hashtag #CubaEstáFirme.
In the attached video, Fidel Castro stated: "The MINFAR has its organization, the Military Counterintelligence, and I am a witness to how Military Counterintelligence operates."
The CIM was established on November 7, 1962 by Order No. 07 signed by Raúl Castro, just weeks after the Missile Crisis, during a time of high tension between Cuba and the United States.
Its origins date back to August 1958, when Raúl Castro ordered the establishment of a secret service subordinate to the General Staff of the Rebel Army in the Second Eastern Front "Frank País."
The institution is subordinate to the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), currently led by General Álvaro López Miera. Among its structures are the Prevention Troops —known as "red berets"— which serve as internal military police with powers to locate deserters and maintain discipline within the FAR.
Marrero Cruz's congratulations come at a time of intense international pressure on the Cuban military apparatus.
In May 2026, the United States government sanctioned high-ranking Cuban intelligence officials, including Major General José Miguel Gómez del Vallín, identified as the head of the CIM, under Executive Order 14404.
Weeks later, on June 4, 2026, Washington included MINFAR in its financial sanctions regime, along with the military conglomerate GAESA and the Ministry of the Interior, which significantly increased the pressure on the Cuban regime.
These measures were supplemented by testimonies from former employees of GAESA, released in September 2026, indicating that the CIM monitored both employees and tourists in hotels operated by the military conglomerate.
In November 2022, on the occasion of the institution's 60th anniversary, Raúl Castro presided over the commemorative ceremony and was recognized by Gómez del Vallín as the founding leader of the organization.
The Prime Minister's congratulations to a body whose leadership is sanctioned by the United States and whose internal surveillance practices have been denounced by former employees illustrates the centrality the regime grants to its military control structures, even under direct external pressure.
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