The change in command of the Central Army, which took place at the end of May with an unknown military figure, raises speculation General Raul Castro is shoring up his group of generals loyal to him and the military regime under his control.

Division General Raúl Rodríguez Lobaina who replaced Army Corps General Joaquín Quintas Solá (serving as the Central Army’s chief for over 20 years) is a virtual unknown even though he has 40 years of military service as announced by the Cuban government.

A thorough search through Cuban media yields very little biographical information about Rodríguez Lobaina who is of African descent.

The only public source about the general appears in a communique dated February 25, 2006 from the Cuban Federation of Radioafcionados website announcing the attendance at the time of Brigadier General Rodríguez Lobaina (then Chief of Matanzas Military Region) at a provincial political ceremony celebrating Radioaficionado Day.

Moreover, there are no photos of Rodríguez Lobaina in official acts/ceremonies in Cuba’s media except for the following photo, where his face is not visible, which was published in Granma during a military ceremony honoring the change of command.

Why did General Castro appoint a general who served under the command of the all important Western Army to be chief of the Central Army and not promote within the Central Army?  Could it be that there is concern from Raul himself and his generals about avoiding any fissure within the perceived “monolithic” hierarchy of the military.

Army Corps General Joaquín Quintas Solá has been dispatched to a bureaucratic desk job in the MINFAR.  Quintas Solá was appointed by Fidel Castro and along with his counterpart in the Eastern Army, Army Corps General Ramon Espinosa Martin are viewed as not meeting eye-to-eye with former Defense Minister Raul Castro.

The seat of power for the Castro regime has always been the capital. And the battle to sustain control of the streets will be played out in the capital.

The Central Army’s proximity to Havana plays heavy to what-if scenarios in the hierarchy of the military.

What would happen if the chief of the Central Army’s was to mutiny along with his staff and target their troops and tanks to take control of the capital in a fissure of command once Fidel Castro dies?

Stability and control is far easier to maintain when loyal acolytes are in command of key positions of a potential rival army and its threat of geographic proximity to the base of power — Havana.

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Cuba’s Central Army commemorated on Friday its 47th anniversary. A politico-cultural ceremony took place at the Defense Preparation School in Matanzas presided by Army Corps General (Lt. General) Joaquín Quinta Solá (Chief, Central Army), presidents and vice-presidents of the Defense Councils of the five provinces comprising of respective commands.

A military review was held with blocks of infantry, tank, and artillery units, Special Troops, Revolutionary War Navy, Ministry of Interior, sharpshooters, Camilitos, units of the MTT (Territorial Troop Militias) and Production and Defense Brigades.

Source: AIN

[Photo: Central Army military review, 2005.]

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