Members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) while on a trip to Cuba intended to “deter” Russia by its very presence, were photographed in uniform dancing and playing music for locals. Defence Minister Bill Blair insisted sending Canadian warship HMCS Margaret Brooke to Cuban ports would send a strong warning to Russia to back off from building a spying headquarters in the Caribbean country. . The Russian vessels were on their way to Cuba after President Vladimir Putin threatened Moscow may equip its allies to target Western adversaries. This came in response to Western nations supporting Ukraine after it hit targets in Russia, the Globe & Mail reported. Canadian and American warships had spotted and tracked Russian naval vessels, a frigate and nuclear-powered submarines, conducting training exercises in the Atlantic in the days leading up to the three-day port visit in Cuba, Russia’s close ally..The Canadian Embassy in Cuba posted photos to its Twitter (“X”) account on June 17, showing RCN members playing guitar, trumpet, keyboard and drums, and leading a conga line of laughing locals in Havana. The embassy in the caption of its post wrote, “Musicians from the RCN’s Naden Band took time this weekend to play music for an appreciative crowd in Plaza de Armas in front of the Museum of the City of Havana.” .Blair speaking to reporters on Monday defended the port visit, and confirmed Cuba is not an ally to Canada. “Presence is deterrence. We were present,” he said.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the CBC in an interview she was unaware of the Canadian warship in Cuba, as it was not her jurisdiction, it was the defence minister’s. Despite Joly saying she had no knowledge of the warship in Cuba, it was her department that organized the musical song and dance, according to Lieutenant-Commander Linda Coleman, a senior communications adviser with the defence department. .Coleman told the publication the Department of Global Affairs arranged the musical performance. While in the country, ship personnel also engaged in cultural exchanges in the Havana area,” she said.“A small number of personnel participated in this particular exchange, which was planned by the Canadian embassy in Havana, and served as a secondary side event in addition to the military purpose of the visit.”She said only four sailors of about 85 crew participated.However, the “visit’s principal purpose was a military one,” said the lieutenant-commander“(Canada) is committed to maintaining a military presence in the sea and air around our continent, and foreign actors coming into our neighbourhood can expect to see our armed forces fulfilling their mission” to protect Canada.Conservative Defence Critic James Bezan said sending warship to Cuba was asking for trouble. “(It sends) a disturbing message to Canada’s Ukrainian community and our ally Ukraine, that Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is celebrating a regime that is actively supporting Vladimir Putin,” he said. .Defence department spokesperson Kened Sadiku told the Globe HMCS Margaret Brooke co-hosted an engagement with the Canadian ambassador “for officials from many countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and the host nation of Cuba.”.Cuba, a small nation under US embargo for decades, and Russia have strengthened their relationship as allies since the 2022 war in Ukraine. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in November 2022 joined Putin in Moscow to unveil a monument to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. There the two leaders, both not waxing US sanctions, pledged to strengthen their bond. Trudeau in 2016, shortly after being elected, made moves to befriend Cuba. He visited in November of that year, and when Castro died a few weeks later, the Canadian prime minister lamented his death on social media. He celebrated the authoritarian leader as a “legendary revolutionary and orator” and “larger than life leader who served his people.”
Members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) while on a trip to Cuba intended to “deter” Russia by its very presence, were photographed in uniform dancing and playing music for locals. Defence Minister Bill Blair insisted sending Canadian warship HMCS Margaret Brooke to Cuban ports would send a strong warning to Russia to back off from building a spying headquarters in the Caribbean country. . The Russian vessels were on their way to Cuba after President Vladimir Putin threatened Moscow may equip its allies to target Western adversaries. This came in response to Western nations supporting Ukraine after it hit targets in Russia, the Globe & Mail reported. Canadian and American warships had spotted and tracked Russian naval vessels, a frigate and nuclear-powered submarines, conducting training exercises in the Atlantic in the days leading up to the three-day port visit in Cuba, Russia’s close ally..The Canadian Embassy in Cuba posted photos to its Twitter (“X”) account on June 17, showing RCN members playing guitar, trumpet, keyboard and drums, and leading a conga line of laughing locals in Havana. The embassy in the caption of its post wrote, “Musicians from the RCN’s Naden Band took time this weekend to play music for an appreciative crowd in Plaza de Armas in front of the Museum of the City of Havana.” .Blair speaking to reporters on Monday defended the port visit, and confirmed Cuba is not an ally to Canada. “Presence is deterrence. We were present,” he said.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the CBC in an interview she was unaware of the Canadian warship in Cuba, as it was not her jurisdiction, it was the defence minister’s. Despite Joly saying she had no knowledge of the warship in Cuba, it was her department that organized the musical song and dance, according to Lieutenant-Commander Linda Coleman, a senior communications adviser with the defence department. .Coleman told the publication the Department of Global Affairs arranged the musical performance. While in the country, ship personnel also engaged in cultural exchanges in the Havana area,” she said.“A small number of personnel participated in this particular exchange, which was planned by the Canadian embassy in Havana, and served as a secondary side event in addition to the military purpose of the visit.”She said only four sailors of about 85 crew participated.However, the “visit’s principal purpose was a military one,” said the lieutenant-commander“(Canada) is committed to maintaining a military presence in the sea and air around our continent, and foreign actors coming into our neighbourhood can expect to see our armed forces fulfilling their mission” to protect Canada.Conservative Defence Critic James Bezan said sending warship to Cuba was asking for trouble. “(It sends) a disturbing message to Canada’s Ukrainian community and our ally Ukraine, that Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is celebrating a regime that is actively supporting Vladimir Putin,” he said. .Defence department spokesperson Kened Sadiku told the Globe HMCS Margaret Brooke co-hosted an engagement with the Canadian ambassador “for officials from many countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and the host nation of Cuba.”.Cuba, a small nation under US embargo for decades, and Russia have strengthened their relationship as allies since the 2022 war in Ukraine. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in November 2022 joined Putin in Moscow to unveil a monument to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. There the two leaders, both not waxing US sanctions, pledged to strengthen their bond. Trudeau in 2016, shortly after being elected, made moves to befriend Cuba. He visited in November of that year, and when Castro died a few weeks later, the Canadian prime minister lamented his death on social media. He celebrated the authoritarian leader as a “legendary revolutionary and orator” and “larger than life leader who served his people.”
