Leopoldo Cintra Fr

New defense minister named (Updated)

November 8, 2011

Cuban state media announced that the Council of State has named Army General Raúl Castro’s loyal acolyte Army Corps General Leopoldo ‘Polo’ Cintra Frías (70) as the country’s new defense minster. ACG Cintra was named in 2008 deputy defense minster (vice-ministro primero) and was the commander of the all important Western Army (1986-2008) that protects the capital, Havana. Army Corps General Alvaro [...]

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Who will be the new chairman of GAESA?

October 24, 2011

Cuba has been without a defense minister since September 3, when then defense minister Army Corps General Julio Casas Regueiro died of heart failure. ACG Casas was also the founder and chairman of GAESA — Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (Enterprise Management Group Inc.), the Cuban military’s powerful and lucrative holding company (with more than 300 companies under its ownership) that controls [...]

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Nomenklatura remains entrenched (Updated)

April 19, 2011

2009 hrs Secretariat — Cuban Communist Party Encabezado por José Ramón Machado Ventura Esteban Lazo Hernández Abelardo Álvarez Gil Víctor Gaute López Olga Lidia Tapia Iglesias José Ramón Balaguer Misael Enamorado Dager Central Committee — Cuban Communist Party (There are 20 generals in the CC.) Misleydy Abad Modey Gral de Div. Onelio Aguilera Bermúdez Liudmila Álamo Dueñas Ricardo [...]

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Cuban media coverage of the military

March 19, 2010

The Federation of American Scientists has obtained a copy of an Open Source Center six-page report from late February 2010 on Cuban media coverage of the military, which has been positive. OSC assesses: President Raul Castro was atypically visible and engaged during a Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) exercise in late 2009, but more commonly he presents [...]

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Jane’s World Armies: Cuba

July 11, 2008

Assessment The collapse of the Soviet Union has deprived the Cuban Army of its major economic and logistic support, and has had a significant impact on equipment numbers and serviceability. The army remains well trained and professional in nature, and is likely to have adopted previous doctrine to take into account the current shortcomings in [...]

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Intense prep year for Western Army

February 4, 2008

A political and military ceremony of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias-FAR), situated east of the capital of Havana, was held to commence preparations for the defensive year of the Eastern Army (Ej

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