The Minister of the Armed Forces of Cuba, Álvaro López Miera, and the Minister of the Armed Forces of Belarus, Víctor Jrenin, held their semi-annual meeting
14ymedio, Havana, 4 July 2024 — A Taurus military gyrocopter -a hybrid between a helicopter and an airplane – and Chinese Vans of the Dajiang special troops carrying machine guns, drones and communication equipment were part of a “weapons show” with which the Ministry of Defense of Belarus received the Minister of the Armed Forces of Cuba, Álvaro López Miera.
With frequent trips to Minsk, López Miera is no stranger in Belarusian military circles. About their visits, the official press of the Island is scrupulously silent, and local agencies – such as Belta – prefer to give few details. The photos that the Belarusian Defense publishes on Telegram say more, in which the Cuban general is seen enthusiastic about his host’s military equipment.
The Minister of Defense, Víctor Jrenin – a regular visitor to Cuba, where he was last January – received the Cuban delegation, made up of several senior officials of the Army, with which he held “negotiations.” During the meeting, both parties evaluated compliance with their agreements – the content of which is not known – during the past six months and ratified their commitment to “military collaboration.”
The Cuban military visited the barracks of the Special Operations Forces Brigade of Belarus, where an exhibition of the equipment used by the “small units” was held, as well as the training they undergo – which they exemplified with several exercises and detonations – and an explanation of the “special equipment” of the brigade, including its drones and vehicles. Belarusian Army officers showed López Miera the Taurus gyrocopter of the Polish company Trendak. Used by the armed forces of several European countries, the Trendak – a small aircraft – has capacity for three soldiers and can move at 170 kilometers per hour.
In addition, the Cuban general inspected the communication and surveillance equipment of the Belarusian Army, and he is seen in the photos interacting with drones. Belarus uses, in its arsenal, the Russian-made Irkut, Orlan and Supercam drones, and the Formula, VR-12, Moskit and Busel, Belarusian.
As for the MZKT-7930 trucks from Polonez, it is an old “Chinese tale” between Minsk and Havana. The Cuban regime has been claiming for months that it is interested in buying Polonez-M missiles, with a range of 300 kilometers, transported by the vehicles that López Miera saw.
Actually manufactured by China – Minsk only manufactures the trucks – Cuba’s interest in missiles was revealed by the Belarusian Defense in November 2023. The agreement for the alleged purchase was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Cuban Army, Roberto Legrá, but neither then nor now has the Island revealed why it wants that class of weaponry.
This Wednesday, López Miera congratulated his counterpart on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis, an anniversary in whose commemorative parade he participated this Wednesday. In addition, the delegation was taken to the commemorative complex of the Fortress of the Heroes of Brest.
The speeches, medals and tributes are the only things in which both countries have been transparent. The last semi-annual contact between the military chiefs of Minsk and Havana occurred last January in the latter capital, when Jrenin received a decoration from López Miera.
The official press was discreet about the trip and only reported the signing of a “military cooperation document” of secret content, similar to the one that six months earlier had been signed in Minsk, just after the uprising of the Wagner mercenary group against Moscow. In his press conference with Cuban journalists, Jrenin also did not reveal the reason for his stay in Havana and limited himself to stressing that the Island is “a strategic ally in the Western Hemisphere,” a phrase that has been interpreted as a geopolitical warning to the United States and the other NATO countries.
About his “important partner” in the Caribbean, the minister added that Cuba and Belarus are “very similar countries” and “do not give up their objectives.” At one point in the speech, quoting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he alleged that it was important for the armies of both nations to have good communication, since “military force has become the basis of political relations between our countries.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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