The fact of the existence of the Republic of Cuba in the immediate vicinity of the United States, which embarked on the path of building socialism back in the 50s of the last century, is still surprising.
The history of Cuba is very interesting. And it has been going on since 1492, when the famous European, Columbus, set foot on the island. Since then, the indigenous people - the Taino Indians - had to fight for their independence with the colonialists: first with the European, and then the United States declared its right to the territory of the island.
From 1952 to 1959, there was a brutal Batista dictatorship in Cuba. Cuban revolutionaries have repeatedly tried to destroy the already obsolete dictatorship. The Batista regime has bothered both the left and the right forces, the rich and the poor. The desire to get rid of the dictatorial regime was reinforced by the open connection of the Cuban authorities with the American mafia. The grave economic and social situation in the country, the lack of democracy and the ability to take into account the interests of the disaffected led to an explosion. The revolution in Cuba became inevitable. General indignation led to the success of the revolution, led by F. Castro.
We can confidently say that the revolution in Cuba was carried out not so much by a handful of revolutionaries, but with the help of the people and those who were in power (except for Batista himself, of course). The United States tried to maintain its influence on the island. The so-called Bay of Pigs operation is known as the crushing defeat of US mercenaries by Cuban rebel forces more than half a century ago in Cochinos Bay. The battle lasted only 72 hours. The Cubans utterly defeated the so-called 2506 Brigade, which consisted of Cuban emigrants trained by the US intelligence services. The "Brigade 2506" consisted of 4 infantry battalions, a tank unit, airborne troops, a heavy artillery division and special detachments - a total of 1,500 people. As a result of the battle, almost all the invaders were captured or destroyed.
Cubans have defended their right to live the way they want. But they had to constantly be ready to defend their independence. Cubans all this time have been living in constant readiness to repel a military invasion of the "rebellious" island by the United States.
Today, after a fairly long period of time, one can note the country's achievements after a radical change of the regime. Cubans are believed to have the longest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba enjoys quality free health care and advanced education. If before Cuba was a supplier of sugar, now it exports brains: for example, Cuban doctors provide highly qualified care on different continents of the world. It is difficult to say whether state regulation of the economy can be attributed to the Cuban regime's asset, but transformations are underway in this industry as well: small private enterprises are allowed in Cuba - hairdressing salons, workshops and production cooperatives. Now Cubans get passports without any problems: many leave the country, but there are also those who return to the sunny island. Despite major changes and strengthening contacts with the outside world, the Cuban regime not only survived, but also strengthened.
A fairly well-grounded question arises: why has the United States of America, dictating its will to many countries of the world, and easily carrying out military intervention in the affairs of sovereign states, still not subjugated Cuba? The answer lies on the surface - Americans are well aware of what it will cost them. All these years, the Cuban armed forces, which grew out of the insurgent units of the Cuban revolution, have been the most trained and well-armed army in the world. And although in numbers it is inferior to many of the armed forces of other countries, the morale of the military personnel and the excellent training of the officers make the Cuban army the most combat-ready.
The armed forces of Cuba are recruited on the basis of conscription, the service life is 1 year. Both men and women serve in the army: there are even tank companies and helicopter regiments in which only women serve.
Liberty Island has long been turned into an impregnable citadel. Many vacationers on the wonderful sandy beaches do not even imagine that well-camouflaged bunkers and military installations are located just a few meters from their sun loungers. And in the karst caves of which the Cubans are so proud, there are military equipment storage bases and prepared firing points. The Cuban military has implemented an effective method of conservation of military equipment. 70% of the available weapons are located at storage bases and are ready for immediate use, together with related equipment and supplies. For example, tanks, self-propelled guns, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns and infantry fighting vehicles are stored in port, along with the necessary stock of batteries and ammunition. The stored equipment has the necessary climatic conditions - optimal humidity and temperature. For this purpose, modern expensive equipment was purchased.
Back in the 80s of the last century, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro officially announced the Cuban military doctrine with the meaningful name "National War". The implementation of the doctrine has led to the fact that Cuba has turned into a powerful fortified area and base, capable of providing a general guerrilla war in the event of an external attack. In the implementation of the assigned tasks for the defense of the island, not only the armed forces of the country are involved, but also civilians, who are united in territorial units of the people's militia. The harmony of the popular forces and the regular army is so great that together they will be able to effectively resist any aggressor. Cubans argue that every citizen of the country, whether military or civilian, knows where and when he must arrive in the event of hostilities or the threat of attack. About 1,400 defense zones and lines have been formed in Cuba. The aggressor is unlikely to be able to cope with such an organized confrontation.
In order to maintain a high level of readiness to repel any attack, the Bastion combined-arms exercises are held in Cuba once every few years, in which military personnel and civilians participate. The number of civilians participating in the exercise significantly exceeds the size of the Cuban army. Russia (and not only her) should envy such organization and the level of patriotism of every citizen of Cuba.
Almost every Russian knows about the special forces "Alpha" and "Vympel", but Cuba also has highly professional military units, although little is known about them. We are talking about the special forces of Cuba - Tropas Especiales "Avispas Negras". This unit is also called "Black Wasps". It was formed with the aim of ensuring the security of the country's top leadership. Initially, it included experienced fighters who served in Latin America and had experience in guerrilla and insurrectionary struggle during the destruction of the Batista dictatorship. With the permission of Fidel Castro, the Black Wasps special forces took part in supporting revolutionary movements abroad.
So, in 1975, Cuban special forces were deployed to Angola to help the People's Liberation Movement for the Liberation of Angola. This African state was a very tasty morsel for the United States and South Africa - the country possessed rich minerals: diamonds, oil, phosphates, gold, iron ore, bauxite and uranium, so they made every effort to prevent the leaders of the pro-Marxist movement from coming to power. Today we can confidently assert that the mission of Cuban military specialists contributed to Angola's choice of the socialist path of development.
In addition, the Cuban special forces fought in Ethiopia and Mozambique, in the countries of Central America. One of the Cuban officers who fought in Ethiopia said that “Russian advisers for Ethiopians are like Martians. Firstly, they are "faranji" (white), and secondly, they live almost under communism. Another thing is we, Cubans: there are many mulattos among us, there are Negroes. In addition, recently we lived in the same filth and hopelessness, just like the Ethiopians. Therefore, we easily understand each other. " And today Cuban military advisers are fighting in many countries of the world.
Cuban special forces "Black Wasps" specialize in warfare in the jungle. Experts admit that today "Black Wasps" are the best special forces that can operate effectively in the tropics, and the level of training of each fighter in terms of complexity has no analogues in the world.
A well-equipped training center is required to train special forces of this level. And such a Center was opened in 1980 in the city of Los Palacios. The Cubans gave it the name "School" - Escuela Nacional de Tropas Especiales Baragua. On the territory of the Center, which occupies a huge territory, artificial reservoirs, swamps, a model of a city, a network of underground communications and much more have been built. At the same time, about 2, 5 thousand cadets can undergo retraining at this Center. And not only "Black Wasps", but also soldiers of the paratrooper troops, the Marine Corps, as well as the military from other countries. The instructors are not only Cubans: for example, officers from the Chinese army teach as instructors at the Center.
The main disciplines at the Center are the tactics of warfare in the jungle, training in how to survive in difficult conditions and covert penetration into enemy territory, methods of sabotage, the development of martial arts, sniper training, diving and parachute training, as well as mastering the skills of conducting information and psychological wars. … By the way, it was Cuban officer Raul Riso who developed a special style of martial arts on the basis of "karate-operetiva", which was used in the training of specialists from the USSR KGB and the GRU General Staff of the USSR Ministry of Defense, special forces soldiers "Vympel" and "Alpha".
The tactics of the "Black Wasps" are based on the action of lonely or small groups of reconnaissance saboteurs who are in a state of autonomous mode for a long time when operating on enemy territory. The Black Wasps fighters masterfully wield all types of weapons from many countries of the world: be it AKMS, AKMSN, Vintorez, RPG-7V, SVD, AS Val or Hungarian ADM-65 or Czech CZ 75, or Cuban-made weapons. Cuba can rightfully be proud of its special forces.
This is how the soldiers of the Soviet Alpha unit, who were trained at the Cuban military training center, described the training of the Cuban special forces "Black Wasps". The camp was located in a picturesque lowland, surrounded by hills covered with forests. The teaching was carried out by the aces of their business. Especially the Alpha members remember the trainings on the so-called "Che Guevara path". The trail is a trail that passes through seven hills, the length of the trail is about 8 km. Training booby-traps, obstacles of various difficulty, stretch marks and other unexpected surprises for the commandos were installed on the trail. Dress code - shorts and no shoes. To increase the load, each fighter carries with him a blank weighing about 8 kg, imitating a Kalashnikov assault rifle, and a pouch with training mines was also attached to his belt. Alpha members remember well that from the first training session they came back "dead". In the future, the teachers of the center taught the cadets to go through minefields, and it was necessary to clear all types of mines “blindly” and by hand, quickly overcome barbed wire obstacles, remove sentries and penetrate airfields, warehouses, fuel terminals, etc.
Daily passage of the "Che Guevara trail", practicing various modes of movement, intensive physical training - the usual training for the Cuban special forces. Moving in a bent position after 15 minutes causes pain in all muscles, and cadets are required to walk like this for hours. In addition, this walking was practiced as part of a group: the one in front probes the ground in front of him with his feet in order to detect stretch marks and mines. The group follows the trail. Since the human eye reacts to rapid movement, the group moves slowly and smoothly for greater stealth, so that they can immediately freeze if a flare takes off. Special forces are taught to fully merge with the environment.
It takes a lot of will and, of course, time to master all disciplines at the Cuban Special Forces training center.
That there are only night crawling movements for 12 hours in a row. In this case, the task of the group is to invisibly enter the protected object. The fighters move slowly, overcoming obstacles of different levels, including noise mats made of reeds, dry leaves, fragments of slate, barbed wire fences (the wire is first bitten, broken by hands - in this case, it does not make a sound, then it is spread with special hooks in different directions and provide a passage to exit). In complete darkness, the leader of the group, when finding mines, checks them for retrievability, neutralizes traps, removes stretch marks or indicates their location. At this time, the group lies motionless and waits for his command. The soldiers are smeared with mud or a masking composition of herbs, the weapons are also processed so that glare is not visible.
In the process of training, the fighters of the Cuban special forces, in addition to group operations, participate in complex exercises at various facilities. For example, they learn to place a magnetic mine on a tank that turns out to be empty, because when a magnet is brought to it, a sound is heard, comparable to a small explosion, and as a result, the task will be considered failed.
During a training assignment for the destruction of a battalion stationed in a barracks, seven Cuban special forces fighters imperceptibly creep up to the object and throw thick checkers, previously brought in belt bags (bolso), into the windows of the barracks. Towers with sentries are being destroyed at the same time. Those few enemy fighters who survived after the first strike of the special forces, as a rule, can no longer offer decent resistance.
Fuel terminals, airplanes at airfields, ammunition depots are blown up, and a special forces group has already left the facility, disguising their campaigns. Such training builds power and energy in every fighter.
All existing types of weapons are mastered in the training center. Cuban instructors teach how to shoot for real: during the day, at night, on the move, at the sound, at a moving target, from the hip, at the flash and much more. The soldiers master the unique skill of firing a mortar without a base plate (from the moment of the first launch to the first explosion, the cadets managed to fire up to 12 shots) - the fire strike turned out to be deafening, and the crew left the firing point in time.
The fighters also undergo training in the conduct of combat operations in urban conditions - they master secret operations, methods and locations, methods of movement around the city, detection and evasion from observation.
It is believed that the Cuban special forces are one of the best in organizing ambushes and kidnapping.
Cubans, teaching the tactics of the operation in the most detailed way, make all participants think, without exception. They believe that a commander or a soldier will be able to make the only correct decision only when he knows many such decisions, and for this training is based on practicing any surprises. Inputs to assignments can be incredible. The main goal of the training is that there should be no unexpected questions and situations during special operations. All possible situations are thought through as much as possible - only then any operation is "doomed" to success.
The Cuban army is on constant alert. Meanwhile, the country lives, works, rejoices, raises children - its future. An economic crisis is raging in the world, and Cuba is implementing social programs, strengthening the health care and education system. The Cuban government is investing in "human capital", which means that the country has a future.
