Cuba Intimidates Dissident Youth with Military Event to 'Defend Socialism' on College Campuses

Colleges across Cuba announced on Tuesday that they would organize a 'University Student Bastion Exercise' forcing students to engage in military training and 'revolutionary, patriotic, and anti-imperialist activities.' Scheduled for March 27, the event aims to prepare students for an 'all people's war' amidst severe economic dysfunction and power grid failures. The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) will also use the event to update military registries and improve the 'political-ideological climate' at colleges. This follows a rare sit-in protest at the University of Havana earlier this month, where students challenged the government's handling of the energy crisis and national blackouts.