Under Castro, Cuba became a highly militarized society. From 1975 until the late 1980s, massive Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities and project power abroad. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 missile crisis. In 1990, Cuba's air force, with about 150 Soviet-supplied fighters, including advanced MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums, was probably the best equipped in Latin America. In 1994, Cuba's armed forces were estimated to have 235,000 active duty personnel. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger). ... The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is a Russian fighter aircraft used in the air superiority role. ...

Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number about 60,000 regular troops. The country's two paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops and the Youth Labor Army, have a reduced training capability. Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities.

In 1989, the government instituted a purge of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting Army Major General and Hero of The Republic of Cuba Arnaldo Ochoa, Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Patricio de la Guardia on charges of corruption and drug trafficking. This judgment is known in Cuba as "Causa 1" (Cause 1). Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed. Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized and the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General Raúl Castro (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior. Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez (1930 – July 12, 1989) was a prominent Cuban general who was executed after being found guilty of treason by a Cuban Court. ...

The government has, however, maintained a large state security apparatus, under the Ministry of Interior, for the stated purpose of suppressing subversive activities within Cuba.

Military branches

• Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces
• Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, or MGR)
• Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR)
• Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT)
• General Intelligence Directorate
• The Border Guard (TGF) (controlled by the Interior Ministry)

The Cuban General Intelligence Directorate (Dirección General de Inteligencia), or DGI, is the main state intelligence agency of the Cuban government. ...

See also

• Cuban military ranks