The President of the National Defense Council (CDN), Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, led a working session of the Havana Provincial Defense Council on Thursday morning as part of the Strategic Exercise Moncada 2026, which is taking place across the country and leads into National Defense Day on Friday.

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic verified the progress of preparation and strengthening of territorial structures to counter potential aggression amidst escalating threats from U.S. imperialism against the nation.

As part of the Strategic Exercise Moncada 2026, Díaz-Canel was accompanied by CDN members and Political Bureau members Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, Party Organization Secretary Roberto Morales Ojeda, and Army Corps Generals Álvaro López Miera (Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, FAR), Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas (Minister of the Interior, Minint), and Roberto Legrá Sotolongo (First Vice Minister of the FAR and Chief of the General Staff).

Major General Ernest Feijóo Eiró, Chief of the Western Army, along with other chiefs and officers from the FAR and Minint, as well as leadership from Havana's Provincial Defense Council (CDP), also participated in the session.

Liván Izquierdo Alonso, President of the CDP in the capital, outlined the tasks and execution of missions during the exercise, which forms part of updating and refining defense plans to ensure higher readiness in the event of aggression.

During the working session, the CDN President directed authorities to continue completing the Production and Defense Brigades (BPD) and to foster their contributions to local economic and social dynamics within their designated defense zones.

He urged defense zones to achieve the autonomy needed to handle daily community challenges, stressing that their organizational structures must consist of trained personnel with strong leadership.

Díaz-Canel reiterated the value of activating defense zones during complex periods, noting that establishing wartime structures during peacetime allows them to play an active role in political, economic, and social spheres. However, he emphasized that this requires the continuous refinement of Zone Defense Council (CDZ) structures.

The CDN President instructed the CDZs to promote greater public participation across all local initiatives. He highlighted the importance of the popular movement "My Neighborhood for the Homeland" and its three main fronts: Productive Neighborhood, Secure Neighborhood, and Solidary Neighborhood—a movement currently supported by the Community Youth Network.

At the Havana CDP, Díaz-Canel also addressed the city's water supply challenges, a prioritized issue that continues to impact a significant portion of the capital's population.

On the final day of Strategic Exercise Moncada 2026, the CDN President visited the Havana Military Region, where its chief, Brigadier General Raúl Pérez Ávila, reported on defensive measures executed during the exercise to ensure the effective repulsion of potential threats.

Pérez Ávila detailed plans for defending the capital, including specific tasks designated for protecting strategic economic, political, and social targets.