Civil Defense Cadets from Cuba Will Be Trained in Russia
MIAMI, United States – Civil Defense cadets from Cuba will begin training at the Civil Protection Academy of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) starting in 2026, as revealed this Wednesday following an official visit by a Cuban delegation to that institution.
The Cuban delegation was led by the military, naval, and air attaché of the Cuban Embassy in Russia, Mónica Milián Gómez, who appears on the “List of Cuban Repressors” published by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba due to her role in recruiting Cuban soldiers for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to the official statement released by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, “the main topics of the meeting were issues related to the training of Cuban specialists in higher education and additional professional education programs, as well as prospects for cooperation between the Academy, the National Civil Defense General Staff of Cuba, and the Russian-Cuban Regional Center.”
During the meeting, both parties agreed to expand additional training programs and to officially establish the admission of Cuban cadets into the Faculty for the Training of Foreign Specialists at the Russian Academy.
The Cuban delegation, which included assistant Leonides Gerardo Rodríguez Abreu, visited the educational facilities of the Russian center, touring the crisis management center, drone practice areas, sports facilities, and specialized classrooms, according to the statement.
This meeting is part of a follow-up to a previous visit by a Russian delegation to Cuba in November 2024, during which Cuban authorities expressed specific interest in the training of specialists in Russia. The current agreement was made possible through prior negotiations between the Russian MChS, the Emercom Agency, and the Cuban Embassy.
“The visit opened up prospects for joint training and the strengthening of international ties,” the Russian statement noted.
According to the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, Colonel Mónica Milián Gómez is the representative in Russia of the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, and “the intermediary for the strengthening of military ties between Havana and Moscow, as announced by Russian officials since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.”
The officer has been accused of playing a role in the recruitment of at least 200 Cubans with military training who have been involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“According to Ukrainian intelligence sources, the recruitment network was coordinated by the Russian government in collaboration with Colonel Mónica Milián Gómez, a Cuban Army officer and military attaché at the Cuban Embassy in Moscow,” concludes the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba.
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