The National Defense Council of Cuba (CDN) met to “approve the decisions and plans” of its working bodies in a meeting chaired by the country’s president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and his predecessor, Raúl Castro, the state press reported this Thursday.
The brief note published in all the official media on the island did not specify the reasons for the unusual meeting held on Wednesday, nor its topics, when this body meets only for emergency situations and by convocation.
| The National Defense Council met this Wednesday at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces to approve the decisions and plans of its work and assurance bodies.
— Presidency Cuba (@PresidenciaCuba) October 16, 2025
Castro, 94 years old, was presented on this occasion as “chief at the head of the Revolution.”
The report only indicated that some political officials and “other senior leaders and officers” of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior attended the meeting.
The CDN is the highest body of the State that prepares the country for its defense, since peacetime, and ensures compliance with the regulations on defense and security of the nation, as established by the Constitution.
It is made up of the president of the country, who in turn appoints a vice president and the other members determined by law.
He can assume leadership of the country if war is declared, or a state of emergency in the face of natural disasters and catastrophes.
