Raúl Castro signed a letter addressed to the fighters of the Brigade of the Frontier, the unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that guards the perimeter of the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo, published this Thursday by the Communist Party of Cuba on social media. The letter, dated November 9, commemorates the 65th anniversary of the founding of that military unit.
This is the third public letter from the 95-year-old general in just four days: on November 8, he congratulated the Military Counterintelligence on its 64th anniversary, and on November 11, he sent another letter to Daniel Ortega for his birthday. This method of communication through letters shared by third parties contrasts with his prolonged physical absence from public life.
In the text, Castro asserts the regime's position on the naval installation: "It is your highest honor to protect national sovereignty at the boundary with the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo, which usurps a portion of national territory against the will of the Cuban people."
The letter concludes with a call that combines revolutionary rhetoric with an implicit acknowledgment of the crisis: "with a steady gaze and the conviction that, together with our people, in the midst of the complex situation the country currently faces, we will achieve VICTORY."
Miguel Díaz-Canel also joined in the congratulations with a message on X: "We join in the congratulations from the Army General to the Border Brigade on its 65th anniversary. A strong embrace and all our recognition to those who protect national sovereignty at the border with the illegal U.S. naval base in Guantánamo." With these words, the leader reiterated support for military unity and the official Cuban stance on the U.S. installation.
What the official message does not mention is who the actual recipients of those words are. Many of the soldiers stationed in that border area are adolescents and young people who have been drafted into Active Military Service, which is mandatory for Cuban males starting at age 17. The Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory documented at least 97 deaths of recruits between 2001 and 2026, with an average age of 18.7 years; at least seven of the deceased were under 18 years old.
The letter arrives at a time of unusual military activity around Guantánamo. On November 5 and 6, Cuba conducted the strategic exercise "Moncada 2026," mobilizing the FAR, MININT, militias, and reservists. Days earlier, on November 3, the U.S. naval base carried out a drone exercise, and on November 6, the combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul visited the facility. On Tuesday, a surveillance drone from the U.S. Navy conducted flights off the coast of Cuba.
The Border Brigade was founded on November 9, 1961, at the Vilorio estate, Niceto Pérez municipality, Guantánamo, and oversees an area of approximately 117 square kilometers.
Castro, meanwhile, has been practically absent from public events for months. He did not attend the IX Congress of the PCC in March nor the central event on July 26, his first absence in at least three decades from that ceremony. Díaz-Canel described him in April as "retired for health reasons" and "fragile" due to his age. His last verified physical appearance was on September 6, sitting in the front row at a MININT event, without giving a speech.
The letters have become the only visible channel of a dictator that the regime needs to project as present, while young Cubans aged 17 and 18 stand guard in front of the naval base in the name of a victory he proclaims from Havana.
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