he Cuban Armed Forces

By: Pedro Corzo - 26/01/2026

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In recent weeks, a significant number of compatriots have demanded that those who make up the armed forces of Cuba act in a civic manner and overthrow Castroism, an honorable way out for those who have been the true pillar of island totalitarianism.

Those who suffered under Castro's regime on the island could always see that a state security officer enjoyed more privilege than their counterpart in any other armed force, even if they held a lower rank. The political police were a kind of aristocracy capable of intimidating many generals and doctors, as the novelist Carlos Loveira would say.

However, the trial against General Arnaldo Ochoa and other officers demonstrated that, although the political police were the ones who showed their teeth to the population, always ready to tear apart the opposition without considering age or sex, it was truly the army that was the backbone of totalitarianism.

High-ranking officials like Ramiro Valdés, "The Butcher of Artemisa," who was considered one of the main conspirators between the Castros and Hugo Chavez, forged a highly efficient repressive apparatus, but with a high corrosive power that was evident in a process in which, although the highest-ranking person executed was an army general, most of those charged came from the upper echelons of the Ministry of the Interior, always linked to trafficking schemes that the regime publicly persecuted but silently promoted to obtain illicit profits in the socialist illegality.

The Cuban system has historically been sustained by an imposing lie and a fabulous fraud in which all uniformed personnel have played a very important role; therefore, I would be surprised if they acted against the harmful network they have helped to build. The Cuban military has been as nefarious for the country as the security forces themselves.

It should not be forgotten that the current Cuban military apparatus was created by the Castros in 1959, just as Fulgencio Batista did in 1933 after the events of September 4th. Interestingly, at that time both despots enjoyed broad popular support to build their praetorian guards and dismantle the armed forces they found when they took power.

The Castro army has been more ruthless and abusive of human dignity than any other military force that has operated in the Republic, comparable to the forces of Valeriano Weyler who in the nineties of the nineteenth century imposed the reconcentration of peasants, a management repeated in the sixties and seventies of the last century by Fidel and Raul.

Furthermore, we must not overlook the fact that, as Cuban society is militarized, more than 70% of the island's top leadership is of military origin, and likewise a considerable number of members of the Party's Central Committee are military personnel.

Furthermore, and very importantly, the imperial appetites of the Castros were always satisfied by the military, who, covertly or acting as international policemen, intervened on three continents without any questioning of the tyrant's dictates.

One notable aspect is the significant involvement of the Cuban military in highly profitable businesses, as has been the case since its inception with the Business Administration Group, better known as GAESA, a conglomerate of companies that manages key sectors of the economy including tourism, retail, finance and telecommunications. This group of military personnel handles billions of dollars without real oversight because they are the highest authority in the country, while also operating the intelligence and security services.

The Castro regime's armed forces—this may not be politically correct, but I find it difficult to call them truly Cuban—appear to have unwavering loyalty, motivated, perhaps, by devotion to the memory of the "supreme leader"; others by the passion that gripped them when they served as praetorians thousands of miles from Cuba's shores. There are also those who serve out of political conviction, and, to avoid consciously committing an injustice, it is likely that some are waiting for the opportune moment to exclaim, "Enough!" and overthrow the tyranny. Or, most likely, the generals, doctors, and their offspring, interested in fully enjoying the stolen riches, will be the ones who act thanks to a timely awareness of their commitment to human rights and democracy.

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