Cuba

Cuba

Cuba

Capital: Havana

Historical

Spanish invasion and control of Cuba
Spanish-American War

Many U.S. owned businesses in Cuba before the revolution including casinos and sugar plantations,

The 1953-1959 revolution against the corrupt Batista regime in Cuba, led by Fidel Castro.

In 1959, the U.S. backed dictator of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, flees the country. Fidel Castro and his small guerrilla army move into Havana and seize power.

1961 Bay of Pigs

In April of 1961, CIA trained Cuban exiles land at the so called Bay of Pigs in Cuba and attempt to retake the island nation from the communist Castro regime. The attempt to retake Cuba was a great failure, and made Fidel Castro even more popular.

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

The U.S. and Soviet Union almost get into a nuclear war, after U.S. U-2 spy planes spot Soviet short range nuclear missiles in Cuba. The U.S. threatens the Soviet Union and Cuba. The Soviet Union decides to withdraw the nuclear missiles from Cuba.

Guantanamo Bay

The U.S. still controls Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Uses to hold muslim prisoners from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. Before the U.S. used it to hold muslim prisoners, they used it to hold and “process” Haitian refugees being sent back to Haiti. In the 1980's and 1990's, the U.S. allowed hundreds of Cuban refugees to come to the United States via boats. At the same time they sent hundreds of Haitian refugees back to Haiti and used the Guantanamo Bay base to “process” them. AIDS and other diseases spread into Haiti at the same time.

In 1975 the racist white South African government, backed by Zaire, white mercenaries, the CIA, FNLA and UNITA guerrillas, invaded Angola. At the request of MPLA forces in Angola, Cuba sends military forces to beat back the invaders. The MPLA guerrillas had recently fought and kicked the racist white Portuguese forces out of Angola and were hard pressed against the overwhelming forces. The combined Cuban and MPLA forces stopped the advance of the invaders and turned them away. Some of the first military forces Cuba sent to Angola were Special Forces with anti-tank weapons used to halt or delay the advance of South African armored units.

Operation Northwoods- The code name of a CIA plan to commit acts of terror and sabotage against the U.S. and blame Cuba as a pretext to invade Cuba.

The Lourdes facility is jointly operated by Russian and Cuban intelligence. Intercepts enemy communications or so called Signals Intelligence (SIGINT).


2016- Long time leader and beloved hero of Cuba, Fidel Castro, passes at the age of 90.

(FAR)- Revolutionary Armed Forces

46,000 total personnel (2002)

85,000 total personnel (2011)?

Largest military in the Caribbean

North Korean made Hwasong 5 short range ballistic missiles?

Belorussian made Sterkh-BM unmanned aerial vehicles to be produced in Cuba?

Air Force

Defensa Anti-Aerea y Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria (DAAFAR)

MiG-29 fighter aircraft (6)

MiG-23 fighter aircraft (40)

MiG-21 fighter aircraft (12)

L-39 trainer/light attack aircraft (8)

Zlin Z-32 trainer aircraft (20)

An-24 transport aircraft (4)

An-26 transport aircraft (3)

Mi-8 transport helicopters (20)

Mi-17 transport helicopters (20)

Mi-24 attack helicopters (20)

AA-11 Archer air-to-air missiles

AA-10 Alamo air-to-air missiles

AA-8 Aphid air-to-air missiles

Hardened shelters for most operational aircraft.

To purchase Sterkh-BM unmanned aerial vehicles from Belarus.

Navy

Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria (MGR)

3,000 personnel (2007 est.)

2 Frigates with Styx anti-ship missiles (decommissioned?)

Osa II class missile boats with anti-ship missiles

Patrol Boats

Mine Warfare vessels

Intelligence Collection ship

SSC-3 coastal fired anti-ship missiles

Cuban built Bandera VI mobile launchers for SS-N-2 (P-15 Termit) coastal batteries, most of which have been taken off of naval vessels.

SS-N-2 Styx (P-15 Termit) anti-ship missiles

Ultralite aircraft

Desembarco de Granma- A battalion sized naval infantry unit.

Destino Especial Naval
Navy Special Forces

Naval Militia

Army

Ejercito Revolucionario (ER)- Revolutionary Army

Miles of underground caves and tunnels that store and hide tanks, soldiers, weapons, equipment, communications, command, and medical facilities.

Operation Bastion- A series of military exercises in preparation for the defense of Cuba.

T-72 tanks (50?)

T-62M tanks (320)

T-54/T-55 tanks (112)

T-34/85 tanks. Most, if not all, were turned into self propelled howitzers with D-30 122mm howitzers. (300)

PT-76 light amphibious tanks (50)

BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles

BMD-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles

BRDM-1 armored reconnaissance vehicles (50)

BRDM-2 armored reconnaissance vehicles (100)

BTR-40 Armored Personnel Carriers

BTR-50 Armored Personnel Carriers

BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carriers

BTR-152 Armored Personnel Carriers
BTR-60 chassis with T-55 turret

Fiero fast attack vehicles used by Special Forces

Truck mounted RBU-6000 cannibalized from a naval vessel.

Air Defense

Self propelled anti-aircraft guns using BTR-60 chassis with open ZSU-57-2 turret.

SA-2 surface-to-air missiles (Most mounted on T-55 tank chassis)

SA-3 surface-to-air missiles

SA-6 surface-to-air missiles

SA-8 surface-to-air missiles

SA-9 surface-to-air missiles

SA-13 surface-to-air missiles

SA-7 shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles

SA-14 shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles

SA-16 shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles

KS-19 anti-aircraft gun on a T-34 tank chassis

ZSU-57-2 self propelled twin 57mm anti-aircraft guns
M-53 Czechoslovakian made twin 30mm on a BTR-60P
ZSU-23-4 self propelled 23mm anti-aircraft guns

KS-19 towed 100mm anti-aircraft guns

KS-12 towed 85mm anti-aircraft guns

S-60 towed 57mm anti-aircraft guns

M-1939 towed 37mm anti-aircraft guns

ZU-23 towed 23mm anti-aircraft guns

ZPU-1 towed 14.5mm anti-aircraft guns

Artillery

FROG-7 (9K52 Luna) rockets

BM-21 122mm multiple rocket launchers

BM-14 140mm multiple rocket launchers

North Korean made Hwasong 5 missiles?

2S1 Gvozdika self propelled howitzers

2S3 Atatsiya self propelled howitzers

SU-100 self propelled guns.

Self propelled howitzers using D-30 mounted on a T-34 chassis
Self propelled howitzers using M-46 mounted on a T-55 chassis

Self propelled howitzers using D-30 mounted on a 6x6 wheeled truck.

Vehicle with howitzer mounted

M-46 130mm towed gun

M-30 122mm towed howitzer

D-30 122mm towed howitzer

BRDM-2 mortar carrier

120mm mortars

82mm mortars

T-12 towed 100mm anti-tank gun

D-44 towed 85mm anti-tank gun

AT-1 anti-tank guided missile

AT-3 anti-tank guided missile

9K111 Fagot anti-tank guided missile

RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launcher

RPG-2 anti-tank rocket launcher

SPG-9 recoilless guns

AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher

RGD-5 hand grenades

Mambi sniper/anti-material rifles. Cuban made.

PKM machine guns

RPK light machine guns

Alejandro 7.62x54 sniper rifles. Cuban made.

Alejandro sniper rifles with night vision scopes

Dragunov SVD sniper rifles

VSS Vintorez silenced sniper rifles

AS Val silenced assault rifles

AMD assault rifles

Vz 58 assault rifles

AK-47 assault rifles

AKM assault rifles. License produced 

AK-74 assault rifles

AK-74 assault rifles with scopes and silencers

AKSU-74

SKS carbines

PM 63 RAK sub-machine guns

Makorov PM pistols

TT-33 pistols

Cz 75 pistols

Stechkin automatic pistols

Flamethrowers

Cuban made red dot scopes. Called the Visor Luminico para Matar Agresores (Light Optic to Kill Aggressors) or “Vilma”

Unidentified Cuban made grenade launchers. Looks similar to a small M-72 LAW or RPG-18.

Airborne Brigade

Direccion General de Tropas Especiales (DGTE)- General Directorate of Special Troops.

Cuban army special forces.

Black Wasps

Heavily armed fast attack vehicles 

New berets for DGTE as of 2011?

Miliciano de Tropas Territoriales (MTT)- Territorial Militia Troops

Mambi anti-material rifles

RPG-7

RPG-2

Scoped AK-74 assault rifles

Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo (EJT) Youth Labor Army

AK-74 assault rifles

Defense and Production Brigades

(Brigadas de Produccion y Defensa)

Ministry of the Interior (MININT)

Brigada Especial Nacional

Grupo Tactico Especial (GTE)- SWAT like group in the MININT.

Policia Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR)

Under the command of the Ministry of the Interior

Cuerpo de Prevencion

Cuban Intelligence

Direcion de Inteligencia (DI) or the Intelligence Directorate.- Formerly known as the Direcion General de Inteligencia (DGI). The DI is a department of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT). Many Cuban agents are believed to be active in the United States, especially in the state of Florida. The DI falls under the Ministry of the Interior.

Camp Matanzas

A training camp operated by the DI. Believed to be responsible for training many guerrillas from around the world.

Cuban spy Ana Montes worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for years before she was caught by U.S. authorities.

There is a signals intelligence gathering facility in Lourdes jointly operated by Cubans and Russians.

Believed to have a chemical weapons program

Cuban companies
Union de Industrias Militares (UIM)



FAR pictures