Cuba's National Defense Council approved 'plans and measures' to move to a 'state of war,' state media reported on Sunday. The announcement comes amid tensions with the United States following Washington's attacks on Venezuela, which culminated in the capture of that country's president, Nicolás Maduro. According to the official press, the measures—of which no details were given—are based on the concept of the 'War of All the People.' This is a strategy promoted in the 1980s by then-President Fidel Castro and is based on the general mobilization of the Cuban population to face a possible external aggression. State media indicated that the plan was approved on Saturday during a meeting of the National Defense Council—the body in charge of assuming control of the country during natural disasters or armed conflicts—'in compliance with the activities planned for the Day of the Defense' with the objective of 'increasing and perfecting the level of preparedness and cohesion of the leadership bodies and the personnel.' They also noted that former President Raúl Castro, 94, 'remained aware of the development of the activity,' and described it as 'a good and efficient meeting.' The island's president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is also the head of the National Defense Council. This was the second Saturday dedicated to defense activities in the country after the U.S. military operation on January 3. These exercises have included ambush drills and training for mine laying, population protection, and combined classes in areas such as military medicine, defense against mass destruction weapons, AKM rifle handling, and camouflage techniques, according to state press reports. In the American attack on Caracas, 32 Cuban soldiers died, whose remains arrived on the island on Thursday, where they received a series of posthumous honors. Two weeks after the U.S. attacks on Venezuela, the Havana government has intensified its verbal confrontation with Washington. At one of the tribute acts for the soldiers killed in Caracas, Díaz-Canel affirmed that 'there is no possible surrender or capitulation' before a possible U.S. attack. 'Cuba does not have to make any political concessions, and that will never be on a negotiating table for an understanding between Cuba and the United States,' he reiterated. During the events, Díaz-Canel wore the olive green uniform of the head of the National Defense Council, something that is reserved, according to Cuban law, for states of war and emergency, or in case of general mobilization.
