Havana, Cuba.-The Bastion 2016 strategic exercise has begun today in Cuba, as part of the preparation for the defense and with a view to raising the disposition of the troops and the population against possible attacks.

This exercise, to be run until Friday, November 18, aims to train the governing and command bodies of the different structures in charge of the national and territorial defense in the organization of the work, according to a recent note from the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).

Later, as usual, the National Days of Defense will be held on November 19 and 20, with the participation of FAR units, the Ministry of Interior and other components of the territorial defensive system.

Those forces will execute movement of troops and war material, air flights and explosions, the text says.

Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Guantanamo province, the president of the National Defense Council has decided to exclude it from this exercise, because it is necessary to concentrate efforts in the recovery phase.

After presenting the main report of the Seventh Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, held in April, Army General Raul Castro announced the holding of the strategic exercise, which is carried out every four years in the Caribbean nation.

On that occasion, the Cuban president assured that this activity is part of the doctrine of the War of the Entire Population, which is the strategic foundation of the defense of the country.