The Fuerzas Nacionales de Defensa (FND) was the military of the Republic of Yara under Anton Castillo's dictatorsihp. The FND, which had a strength of 300,000 by 2021, was a conscript army composed of both male and female draftees, and its soldiers were indoctrinated into believing that political dissidents, social outcasts, and minority groups were "Fake Yarans" who could be tortured, robbed, and executed. Despite its massive size and well-organized military system, the FND relied mostly on Soviet-era weapons and equipment, and its navy onsisted of frigates, patrol boats, and repurposed cargo vessels manufactured during the Soviet era. A lack of motorized vehicles due to an international blockade forced FND patrols to utilize horses. After the overthrow of the Castillo regime by the Movimiento Libertad in 2021, the remnants of the FND waged insurgencies in Yara's provinces.