Cuba conducted a nationwide civilian military exercise amid a worsening fuel crisis, part of a broader push to militarize youth under its ‘war of the entire people’ doctrine.

Cuba held a nationwide civilian military exercise Friday involving weapons training and combat drills, part of a broader push to expand militarisation to youth under its “war of the entire people” doctrine, which authorities describe as a collective patriotic duty. The drills came amid a deepening humanitarian crisis for the island as it faces chronic fuel shortages due to a US oil blockade.