Cuba Announces 5 Days of Nationwide Military Exercises

— -- Cuba announced five days of military exercises today in an effort to "maintain the country's defense preparedness" in the event of "enemy actions," according to its state-run newspaper.

The pre-scheduled exercises will take place next week during Cuba's Strategic Exercise "Bastión 2016" from Nov. 16-18 and on National Defense Days, Nov. 19 and 20.

"... Maneuvers and tactical exercises will take place with the participation of Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) units, the Ministry of the Interior, and other components of the defense system, including the movement of troops, materiel, aviation, and explosives in the cases where this may be required," the state-run newspaper said.

This will be the seventh time Cuba will conduct what it calls the Strategic Exercise "Bastión."

While today's announcement did not directly mention yesterday’s U.S. election of President-elect Donald J. Trump, these exercises almost always occur at a point of increased tension between Cuba and the United States.

In July, President Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and eased some sanctions to allow trade and tourism to the nation. Although a five-decades-old trade embargo remains in place, the move was seen as a big step forward in normalizing decades of hostility between the two countries.

While campaigning as the GOP presidential nominee, Trump threatened to reverse those relations in an interview last October, telling the local CBS affiliate in Miami that the U.S. had entered into "a very weak agreement." When asked if Trump would break off diplomatic relations on his first day in office, Trump responded that he would do "whatever you have to do to get a strong agreement."

"And people want an agreement, I like the idea of an agreement, but it has to be a real agreement. So if you call that for negotiation purposes, whatever you have to do to make a great deal for the people of Cuba. So important," Trump said.

He added that he would wait to appoint an ambassador to Cuba until a "very powerful agreement" was put in place.

According to The Associated Press, Cuba first launched this military exercise after Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 in the midst of the Cold War.