CUBA READIES MILITARY HARDWARE FOR SHOW
AP’s Anita Snow writes about Cuba’s military hardware, key points:
Communist Cuba’s military is rolling out its olive green Soviet-era hardware this weekend, summoning 300,000 troops and citizen soldiers for a show of strength in times made uncertain by Fidel Castro’s illness. Anti-aircraft missiles, tanks and armored vehicles, MiG fighter jets and helicopter gunships have rehearsed in recent days for Saturday’s parade in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution.
Cuba’s military stockpiles have been diminished by years of disuse, lack of parts and tropical humidity. But experts believe the island still has more working tanks, missiles and other materiel than most Latin American nations.
The show of strength also underscores the role Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces will likely play in maintaining order and guiding the nation after Castro is gone. Cuba’s aging leaders have long insisted the island’s communist system will outlive them.
Estimates of troop strength on this island of 11.2 million people vary between 39,000 to 55,000, depending on the source and which branches of the service are included.
“The Cuban Army remains one of the most formidable in Latin America” and “remains well-trained and professional in nature,” according to the publication Jane’s World Armies.
Cuba can also count on more than 1 million militia members, as well as paramilitary and civilian defense groups. Cuba’s “War of All the People” military doctrine calls on all other able-bodied citizens to take up arms in the event of a foreign invasion.
Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, which replaced the military that existed before the Cuban Revolution, traces its roots to Dec. 2, 1956, when 82 rebels landed on the island on a yacht - the Granma - that sailed from Mexico.
Sphere: Related ContentNo tags for this post.
0 comments
Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.