Cuba Calls Military Exercises after Trump Victory in USA

HAVANA TIMES – Just hours after Donald Trump became the president elect of the United States, the Cuban government announced today that it will carry out military exercises throughout the country for three days to confront the “different actions of the enemy”, reported dpa news.

The military maneuvers (November 16-18) called “Bastion” were announced after knowing the electoral victory of Donald Trump, although Cuban authorities did not link the announcement to the election results.

The exercises will include “movement of troops and war material, aviation flights and explosions in cases where required,” said the official newspaper “Granma“.

In 1980, the first “Bastion” maneuvers took place after the victory in the US presidential elections of republican Ronald Reagan. Since then, seven such military exercises have been carried out.

Cuban officials had maintained a neutral position in the US election and have avoided expressing preferences between Clinton and Trump.

But the victory of Donald Trump raises doubts on the island whether he will maintain the opening policy initiated by Barack Obama that has meant the reestablishment of the diplomatic relations after decades of confrontation.

During the long campaign, at first Trump assured that the thaw with Cuba was positive and that it was necessary to continue the rapprochement between both countries.

However that position began to change when Trump traveled to Miami and threatened to reverse the rapprochement between Washington and Havana.

“The next president can change that policy and that’s what I’m going to do unless the Castro regime lives up to our demands,” Trump said during a speech in Florida in September.