Havana, Cuba.-President Raul Castro in a speech through national media gave today the order to start the Bastion 2016 strategic exercise.

The aim of those drills is to increase the level of preparation and cohesion of the management and command bodies of all levels of the troops, economy and the population, he noted.

He explained that this time, the eastern Guantanamo territory, recently damaged by Hurricane Matthew, was excluded from the drill to focus on its recovery.

He urged that these activities of preparation for the defense are carried out with the highest efficiency and rationality, under the principle that the revolutionary guard will never be neglected in the interest to continue strengthening our defensive capacity.

The leadership and command bodies made up of the Cuban Communist Party, government, central government bodies of the State, companies, entities and units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the population are participating in these maneuvers.

The Bastion 2016 military exercise, held every four years since 1980, will run until Friday, November 18. According to tradition, the National Days of Defense will be held on November 19-20.