Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
    • Business Bites
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • All Woman
  • Career & Education
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Classifieds
  • Design Week
Cuba announces nationwide military exercises
Flag of Cuba
News
November 8, 2016

Cuba announces nationwide military exercises

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Cuba on Wednesday announced the launch of five days of nationwide military exercises to prepare troops to confront what the government calls “a range of enemy actions.”

The government did not link the exercises to Donald Trump’s US presidential victory but the announcement of manoeuvres and tactical exercises across the country came nearly simultaneously with Trump’s surprise win.

It is the seventh time Cuba has held what it calls the Bastion Strategic Exercise, often in response to points of high tension with the United States.

The first exercise was launched in 1980 after the election of Ronald Reagan as US president, according to an official history.

Trump has promised to reverse President Barack Obama’s reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba and the ongoing normalization of the relationship between the two countries.

An announcement by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces in red ink across the top of the front page of the country’s main newspaper said the army, Interior Ministry and other forces would be conducting maneuvers and different types of tactical exercises from the 16th to the 20th of November.

It warned citizens that the exercises would include “movements of troops and war materiel, overflights and explosions in the cases where they’re required.”

News of Trump’s victory hit hard among ordinary people and experts in US relations with Cuba, which has spent the last two years negotiating normalization after more than 50 years of Cold War hostility.

Normalization has set off a tourism boom and visits by hundreds of executives from the US and dozens of other nations newly interested in doing business on the island. Trump has promised to reverse Obama’s opening unless President Raul Castro agrees to more political freedom on the island, a concession considered a virtual impossibility.

Speaking of Cuba’s leaders, Communist Party member and noted economist and political scientist Esteban Morales told the Telesur network: “They must be worried because I think this represents a new chapter.”

Carlos Alzugaray, a political scientist and retired Cuban diplomat, said a Trump victory could please some hard-liners in the Cuban leadership who worried that Cuba was moving too close to the United States too quickly.

“There’s been a lot of rejection of what’s been done with Obama,” Alzugaray said. “Many Cubans think that a situation of confrontation is better for the revolution.”

Many Cubans said they feared that a Trump victory would mean losing the few improvements they had seen in their lives thanks to the post-detente tourism boom.

“The little we’ve advanced, if he reverses it, it hurts us,” taxi driver Oriel Iglesias Garcia said. “You know tourism will go down. If Donald Trump wins and turns everything back it’s really bad for us.”

{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

Uganda’s Ghetto Kids group ‘can’t wait’ to join Shakira at World Cup
International, Latest News, Videos
Uganda’s Ghetto Kids group ‘can’t wait’ to join Shakira at World Cup
June 4, 2026
KAMPALA, Uganda (AFP) — The Ghetto Kids, a Ugandan dance troupe made up of street children, spoke of their excitement at being invited by music supers...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
UK MP sues Musk’s xAI over fake sexualised images of her
International News, Latest News
UK MP sues Musk’s xAI over fake sexualised images of her
June 4, 2026
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A British lawmaker has filed a case at London's High Court against Elon Musk's xAI after its Grok chatbot tool was used...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
NaRRA CEO outlines priorities
Latest News, News
NaRRA CEO outlines priorities
June 4, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), Ambassador Antony Anderson, says hi...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
PSOJ President Patrick Hylton appointed Massy Holdings chairman designate
Latest News, News
PSOJ President Patrick Hylton appointed Massy Holdings chairman designate
June 4, 2026
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and former chief executive officer of National Commercial Bank (NCB)...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Pregnant woman, fiancé drown at Guyana beach; bodies recovered
Latest News, Regional
Pregnant woman, fiancé drown at Guyana beach; bodies recovered
June 4, 2026
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The bodies of a Guyanese couple, including a pregnant woman, who went missing while swimming at Unity Beach on Sunday, have...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Trump slams ‘unpatriotic’ US House vote to end Iran war
International News, Latest News
Trump slams ‘unpatriotic’ US House vote to end Iran war
June 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States (US) President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed a vote in the US House seeking to order the withdrawal...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Dovey Magnum Says “Be Patient
Entertainment, Latest News
Dovey Magnum Says “Be Patient
June 3, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica - International dancehall recording artiste Dovey Magnum is gearing up for a busy summer with the release of her latest single, " Be...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Bunting flags Jamaica’s productivity crisis
Latest News, News
Bunting flags Jamaica’s productivity crisis
June 3, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica's long-term economic growth remains among the weakest in the developing world according to Opposition Spokesman on Product...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct