The small island nation of Cuba had impacts throughout the world
Cuba intervened into numerous conflicts during the Cold War. The country sent medical and military aid into foreign countries to aid Socialist governments and rebel groups. These interventionist policies were controversial and resulted in isolation from many countries.[1] Due to the ongoing Cold War, Cuba attempted make allies across Latin America and Africa. Cuba believed it had more freedom to intervene in Africa as the U.S. was more concerned about Latin America.[2] Still, the US was strongly opposed to Cuban involvement in Africa and continued Cuban intervention was a major source of tension.[3] Cuban intervention was often confidential and all Cuban doctors and soldiers were forced to keep their location confidential.[4]
Cuban foreign policy was motivated by both idealism and realpolitik.[2] It publicly justified its interventions into foreign conflicts for a number of reasons; to spread their revolutionary ideas, aid "liberation movements" fighting for independence,[2] and to protect the territorial sovereignty of allied nations. Cuban leader Fidel Castro stated: "Our Revolution is not a revolution of millionaires. Instead, it is one carried out by the poor, and is one which dreams of ensuring the well-being not only of our own poor, but rather of all the poor in this world. And that is why we talk of internationalism."[6] Cuba was the only economically lesser developed nation with extensive military intervention in Africa.[3] Cuba was a strong supporter of the Organization for African Unity's emphasis on border protection and African independence.[3]
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and facing the economic difficulties during the Special Period, Cuba continued to maintain a presence in Africa, including the service of many doctors.[3]Cuban medical internationalism was a prominent feature of their interventions alongside military aspects. Medical internationalism consisted of four prevailing approaches: emergency response medical teams sent overseas; establishment abroad of public health systems for providing free health care for local residents; taking in foreign patients to Cuba for free treatment; and providing medical training for foreigners, to Cuba and overseas.[7] All Cuban doctors overseas were volunteers.[4]
During the Cold War, Cuba often positioned itself internationally by providing direct military assistance to those who shared the same ideology and to resistance movements[8] with at least 200,000 members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) serving in foreign territories during the period.[9] Cuba perceived its interventions to be a method of directly combating the international influence of the United States.[10] Cuba also sought to place its troops into international conflicts in order to build combat expertise among their ranks.[11]
One of the first foreign actions taken by Cuba only months after the Revolution included an attempted coup in Panama on 24 April 1959.[12] The coup was repelled by members of the Panamanian National Guard.[14]
The Dominican Republic was invaded on 14 June 1959.[15][16] Fifty-six men (Cubans, Guatemalans, Dominican exiles, and American communists)[17] landed a C-56 transport aircraft in Constanza. As soon as the invaders landed, they were massacred by the fifteen-man Dominican garrison.[18] A week later, two yachts offloaded another group of invaders onto Chris-Craft launches for a landing on the north coast. Dominican Air Force pilots fired rockets from their British-made Vampire jets into the approaching launches, killing most of the invaders.
The first official foreign deployment of Cuba's armed forces was in Algeria during the 1963 Sand War.[19] Hundreds of Cuban troops arrived in Algeria on 22 October 1963, upon request from Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella.[19] Castro was convinced that the United States sought Ben Balla's overthrow and was determined to prevent this from happening.[19] Under the command of Efigenio Ameijeiras, Cuba deployed twenty-two T-34 tanks, eighteen 120-mm mortars, a battery of 57-mm recoilless rifles, anti-aircraft artillery with eighteen guns, and eighteen 122mm field guns with the crews to operate them.[19] Castro sought to keep the operation covert in order to avoid international backlash, with many Cuban troops participating in the conflict wearing Algerian uniforms.[19] However, French forces quickly discovered Cuban intervention and reported it to other governments.[19] Apparently the Cubans did not actively participate in combat, and they were eventually withdrawn by the end of the year after providing training to Algerians in the use of military hardware.[5]
Soon after taking following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro sought to take advantage of relations with Venezuela and incorporate its oil wealth within Cuba and quickly began to make relations with Venezuela guerrillas.[20] President of Venezuela Rómulo Betancourt cut ties with Cuba in 1961 as part of the Betancourt Doctrine, which saw Venezuela breaking relations with governments that came to power through non-democratic means.[21] In July 1964, the Organization of American States sanctioned Cuba after a cache of weapons destined for the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional was discovered on Venezuela's shores.[22] In May 1967, the Machurucuto raid saw Cuban troops attempting to make their way into the Andes to train Venezuelan guerrillas, but they were captured by the Venezuelan Army and National Guard.[23]
During the Congo Crisis, Cuba intervened between April and November of 1965 and provided hundreds of personnel to assist the Conseil National de Liberation (CNL), also known as the Simbas, with overthrowing the Congolese government.[24] The CNL was fighting against the government under Moïse Tshombe that took power of the DRC following the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. The Tshombe government was supported by the United States and South Africa.[25]
Map highlighting the zones where Guevara and the Cubans fought, 1965
In December 1964, just prior to his time in the Congo, Che Guevara gave a speech speaking out against western imperialism in front of the UN General Assembly. Guevara's speech demonstrated Cuban motives for supporting the CNL against the US back Congolese government.[26] Soon after, Castro decided to send Guevara along with Víctor Dreke and 137 other Cuban soldiers to support the CNL, revolutionary followers of the deceased Patrice Lumumba.[26] Cuba supported the CNL along with the African states of Algeria, Egypt, and Zanzibar, all of whom were especially frustrated by US involvement.[25] The group flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and crossed Lake Tanganyika into the Congo.[27] Guevara previously underwent cosmetic surgery and did not tell either the Tanzanians or the CNL that he was coming.[28][29] While in the Congo, Guevara operated under the code name "Tatu", meaning third.[25] When they arrived, the Cubans were surprised to find much less fighting and fewer CNL soldiers than expected.[27] Only between 1,000 and 1,500 CNL rebels remained in the region to fight, and CNL leadership initially did not provide the Cubans with any tasks.[28][30] Guevara struggled to have productive conversations with CNL leader Laurent Kabila.[25] The CNL allowed the Cubans to begin engaging in larger battles in June, but they had only small military successes. The Cubans also trained the CNL soldiers in the guerrilla military tactics used in the Cuban revolution and taught to other revolutionary movements around the world.[27][26] Both sides faced prejudice and differences with the other, which was made only more difficult by the language barrier. [26] While in the Congo, the Cubans faced harsh conditions and illnesses, and Guevara contracted both malaria and asthma.[27]
The Cubans withdrew in November after seven months for a mixture of reasons. First, Algeria had been another source of foreign support for the CNL, but it underwent a coup in June. In October, the Organization for African Unity met in Accra, Ghana, and demanded the exit of all foreign military presence in the Congo, including the Cubans. Then in November, General Mobutu took power and negotiated peace agreements with neighboring states such as Tanzania. Dar es Salaam had served as a supporter and essential entry and exit point for the Cubans, but they warned the Cubans they would no longer be able to help them.[27] The Léopoldville government also offered independence to all CNL members who renounced support.[26] Finally, throughout their time in the Congo, the Cubans saw marginal military success and faced many setbacks and struggles.[27] The CNL leadership struggled with rivalries and lacked of strong united leadership on the ground.[26] The Cuban mission was forced to eventually make the decision to withdraw.
In November, the Cubans crossed Lake Tanganyika back into Tanzania and flew back home.[27] Guevara considered his efforts in the Congo to be a great failure.[30] Along with the withdrawal of the Cubans, 17 young CNL fighters traveled to Havana with the goal of receiving training and continue the war. However, problems within the Congolese government prevented their return. Some families and close relatives of CNL members also moved to Cuba leading to the development of a shared Cuban and Congolese identity and community.[26] Guevara continued on to Bolivia where he was eventually executed after being captured by a CIA agent.[25]
Cuban and Guinean doctors working together in Guinea-Bissau
Cuba was extensively involved in supporting the PAIGC during the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau against the Portuguese. During the war Cuba kept their involvement a secret, but supplied extensive aid, military support, and doctors.[31] Cuba believed that outcomes in Guinea-Bissau would impact Portuguese morale and success in more strategic countries such as Mozambique and Angola.[32] Cuba was also motivated to support anti-imperialist movements and felt it owed Africa for the slaves that helped build Cuba.[33] While helping fight, nine Cubans died in Guinea-Bissau between 1966 and 1974.[32] Cuba’s experience with guerrilla fighting strategy fit well with the war for independence in Guinea-Bissau.[33]
The independence movement in Guinea-Bissau was led by the PAIGC under Amílcar Cabral.[34] The PAIGC was established in September 1956 and became widely respected as one of the strongest independence movements in Africa.[31] Although Cabral was not a Marxist, he was progressive and interpreted the conflict in Guinea-Bissau through the lens of a class struggle.[32] Cabral was widely respected among revolutionaries and officials in Cuba. In 1962, Cabral tried to see if he could receive US support, but the US was too concerned with Portuguese relations and protecting their strategic use of their Azores base.[31] In 1963, Cabral first asked Cuba for help training and educating military officials. Cuba agreed but did not initially fulfill the request. In December 1964, Che Guevara was impressed by Cabral when he made his first trip to Guinea-Conakry, where PAIGC leaders were headquartered. That May, Cuba made its first delivery of supplies to the PAIGC, including medicine, food and arms.[32] Cabral first met Castro at the Tricontinental Conference in January 1966. Cabral explained the situation in Guinea-Bissau and impressed Castro with his knowledge and skills as a leader. During the meeting, Castro promised doctors, military instructors and mechanics to Cabral, and a couple months later Cuba began distributing large amounts of aid. Additionally, following the meeting Oscar Oramas was installed as the new ambassador for Conakry at the request of Cabral.[33]
All Cubans who traveled to help in Africa were volunteers. The presence of Cubans in Guinea-Bissau was secret and the volunteers were instructed to tell their families they were being sent to the USSR to receive training. The average Cuban volunteer stayed 18 months and faced difficult conditions including malaria, parasites and a limited food supply.[32] Cabral requested that the Cuban volunteers were black so that they would blend in with the local population and Cuban presence could remain confidential. Cabral hoped to use the conflict to build a sense of national identity, so he limited the amount of foreign aid that he would accept.[32] Cuban volunteers were the only foreigners that Cabral allowed to fight alongside the PAIGC. Still, both US and Portuguese officials had suspicions about the presence of Cuban troops that were confirmed with the capture of Cuban Captain Pedro Rodríguez Peralta, who was taken as a prisoner of war by Portuguese troops. Peralta was taken to Portugal to be tried while Cuba attempted to negotiate his independence. Portugal claimed Peralta would only be released if Cuba admitted to sending troops to Guinea-Bissau, which it refused to do.[33] Cuba claimed Peralta was only in Guinea-Bissau to visit his colleagues who were doctors helping in the region. Portugal convicted Peralta of serving as a training instructor and advisor to the PAIGC.[35] The Cuban press recognized the capture of Rodríguez Peralta on 10 September 1974, the same day that the Portuguese government recognized the independence of Guinea-Bissau following the Portuguese coup.[32]
A failed attack on the strategically important camp in Madina de Boé led Castro to assign Víctor Dreke to lead the military effort. Dreke was well respected for his fighting in Zaire.[32] Castro also increased the number of troops to almost 60 Cubans. Dreke was an experienced fighter who was well liked and respected by his troops.[32] The US was so impressed with the military tact and skill set that it believed Cuba had sent 7,000 troops with extensive aid and support from the USSR.[32] By January 1966 the Portuguese increased the size of their troops from 20,000 to 25,000 but continued to suffer losses to the PAIGC.[32]
Consistent with behavior across Africa, Cuba never imposed its wishes on the PAIGC. Cuban officials provided Cabral with advice but always respected his ultimate decisions because they respected that it was not their country and they provided unconditional aid without demands. Cuba knew that Cabral was not a true Marxist and did not expect a liberated Guinea-Bissau to be Marxist.[32]
In addition to providing troops, Cuba supplied many doctors to Guinea-Bissau. There were no modern trained doctors in Guinea-Bissau prior to the aid provided by the Cubans in 1968.[32] The doctors provided aid to both soldiers and civilians and were also present at the battle front. The presence of Cuban doctors empowered PAIGC soldiers to fight harder because they had hope of being healed.[32]
During the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, Cuba provided 4,000 troops to Syria to assist Syria's attack against Israel.[36] Helicopters and tanks were also provided by the Cuban military.[37] Fighting on the Golan Heights front continued until May 1974, by which time an Israeli counterattack had largely defeated the Cuban-Syrian tank forces. The Cubans reportedly suffered casualties of approximately 180 killed and 250 wounded.[38] After the Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria in May 1974, Israel remained in possession of the Golan Heights, and all Cuban forces were withdrawn in January 1975.
Cuba was the main supporter of the communist insurgency in Chile from 1973 to 1990. Cuba provided the Marxist rebel groups MIR and FPMR with weapons and financial support, as well as shelter, training inside Cuba, and logistical support. Cuba also created an operations room to politically unite the MIR and FPMR under Cuban command.[39]
As the Angolan Civil War broke out, Cuban intervention in Angola was a large-scale intervention to support the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Cuba had provided military support to MPLA under the leadership of Agostinho Neto since the early 1960.[40] In late-1974, Cuba sent Major Alfonso Perez Morales and Carlos Cadelo to assess the situation in Angola after receiving requests for military aid.[41] As the South African Border War intensified and more foreign actors entered into the Angolan Civil War, Cuba grew more involved. On 3 August 1975, a second Cuban mission arrived and provided US$100,000 to the MPLA. Apartheid South Africa intervened in support of the FLNA and UNITA.[42] By 15 August 1975, Castro had demanded that the USSR provide more assistance to the MPLA, though the demand was declined.[43] Cuban troops began to depart for Angola on 21 August 1975; important personnel utilized commercial aircraft while standard troops were transported by cargo ships.[42] On 6 October, Cuba and the MPLA engaged in a clash with the FNLA and South African troops at Norton de Matos, resulting in a significant defeat for Cuba and the MPLA. While the Cuban troops were still in the midst of crossing the Atlantic, the South Africans had apparently airlifted a limited number of troops and armored cars to central Angola.[5]
On 4 November 1975, Castro launched Operation Carlota against FNLA, Zaire, and the SADF at the request of Neto. 4,000 Cuban troops arrived in Angola shortly after on 9 November, and the number quickly grew to 20,000 with Soviet support.[44][45] Cuba strongly opposed the US supported white minority rule in South Africa so they were strongly opposed to SADF intervention.[46] In the Battle of Quifangondo (10 November 1975), the MPLA, supported by Cuban troops, defeated FNLA supported by the South African Defense Force (SADF). On 25 November 1975, as the FLNA/SADF crossed a bridge, MPLA/Cubans hidden along the banks of the river attacked, destroying seven armored cars and killing upwards of 90 enemy soldiers.
Between 9 and 12 December, Cuban and South African troops engaged in battle between Santa Comba and Quibala, resulting in the defeat of the Cubans.[5] One notable casualty was Raúl Argüello, a commander and veteran of the Cuban Revolution, who was killed when his vehicle struck a land mine. Concurrently, UNITA troops and another South African mechanized unit captured Luso. These defeats prompted a significant increase in the number of Cuban troops being airlifted to Angola, more than doubling from approximately 400 per week to perhaps a thousand. Among these reinforcements were seasoned veterans of the Cuban Revolution and Latin American conflicts.[5]
By the end of 1975, over 25,000 Cuban troops were deployed into Angola to assist the MPLA.[47] In mid-January 1976, the South Africans withdrew from Cela and Santa Comba in Angola, moving to a position north of the Angolan-Namibian border. This decision was likely influenced by the increased presence of Cuban troops.[5]
In February 1976, Cuban forces launched Operation Pañuelo Blanco (White Handkerchief) against an estimated 700 FLEC insurgents. This operation succeeded in annihilating the FLEC force.[48] The Cuban troops came to have in the first campaign of 1975–1976 some 400 tanks, and in the final campaign of 1988, near 1,000 tanks.[49]
In May 1977, Cubans played an important role in supporting the MPLA government of Agostinho Neto and foiling the Nitista Plot in which Nito Alves and José Jacinto Van-Dúnem split from the government and led an uprising. Neto believed the Soviet Union had supported the plot and Cuban soldiers helped defeat the uprising.[50] Cuba sent an additional 4,000 soldiers to prevent further unrest within the MPLA.[51] Thousands of people were estimated to have been massacred by MPLA and Cuban troops in the aftermath of the attempted coup over a period of two years. Amnesty International estimated 30,000 were killed in the purge.[52]
Castro made it clear that the Cubans would not withdraw from Angola until there was no longer an external threat. The United States attempted to leverage the status of their relationship with Cuba on the withdrawal of Cuba from Angola. The US used linkage techniques to argue that South Africa would leave Angola when Cuba did as well. However, Castro refused to let the US control its position in Africa and maintained that Cuba would stay in Angola as long as the MPLA wanted them. [46] Castro claimed Namibia must first be independent so that SWAPO could leave Angola and that South Africa must stop supporting UNITA.[46]
The next major battle involving Cubans occurred in 1988. The crisis began in 1987 with an assault by Soviet-equipped MPLA troops (People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA)) against the pro-Western rebel movement UNITA in the country's south. Soon, the SADF intervened in support of beleaguered UNITA and the MPLA offensive stalled. Acting independently from Moscow, Havana reinforced its African ally, increasing its deployed number to 55,000 troops, tanks, artillery and MiG-23s, prompting Pretoria to call up 140,000 reservists.[48] On 15 February 1988, the South Africans launched an attack on the MLPA's defenses, breaking through and encircling the 59th MLPA Brigade. Seven Cuban tanks counterattacked; all were destroyed but the 59th Brigade was able to escape.[5] In June 1988, SADF armor and artillery engaged FAPLA-Cuban mechanized forces at Techipa, killing 290 Angolans and 10 Cubans.[53] In retaliation, Cuban warplanes conducted airstrikes against South African troops.[48] However, both sides quickly pulled back to avoid an escalation of hostilities and the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale stalemated.[48] Cuban and Angolan military officials met US and South African officials in Cape Verde on 22 July 1988 and agreed to an immediate ceasefire and for South Africa to withdraw all its troops by 1 September. 2,077 Cubans had died in Angola by the time the last forces returned home in 1991.[46]
Somalia initially invaded the Ogaden during the summer of 1977 and controlled up to 90% of the region after several initial victories.[55] In November 1977, Cuba deployed 16,000 troops under General Arnaldo Ochoa to support Ethiopia against the Somali invasion. Although Cuba acted independently, the Soviets supported Cuba’s decision to support Ethiopia.[56] The Soviet's helped train 50,000 Ethiopians and sent military hardware.[55] Territorial integrity was a core value for the Cubans, and Somalia’s invasion violated territorial sovereignty agreements under the Organization of African Unity.[56] Castro met Ethiopia’s leader, Mengistu, in early 1977 and decided he liked him as a revolutionary leader and wanted to provide support.[56] Cuba was hesitant to send troops, but did so when it became clear that the Somali invasion would otherwise succeed. Cuban troops and warplanes played a major part in the expulsion of Somalia from the Ogaden region.[57] However, the presence of Cuban troops in the Ogaden region allowed Ethiopia to focus its troops on a violent invasion of Eritrea in the north.[56] Castro was opposed to the battle in Eritrea, so Cuban troops were only permitted on the Ogaden front.[58] Castro attempted to form a socialist federation between Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, but it was they rejected it.[59] To this day Castro is seen in Ethiopia as a revolutionary hero and beloved for his aid during the Ogaden war. Simultaneously, he is viewed in Somalia as an imperialist and blamed for thousands of Somali deaths. Somalia believes the Ogaden, which is inhabited largely by ethnic Somalis, would be a part of Somalia today if were not for the Cubans.[55]
During the Nicaraguan Revolution, Cuba supplied military aid and logistics to Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) guerrillas.[60] Cuban military and intelligence personnel subsequently became incorporated into the ranks of Nicaragua's security services.[61] Some Cuban personnel were accused of abuses, including an incident where a Cuban adviser killed two civilians in Nueva Guinea after one spilled beer on his uniform.[62]
On 25 October 1983, the US invaded Grenada and overthrew its government. The invasion was triggered by tensions within the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada which had resulted in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader of Grenada Maurice Bishop six days earlier, and the establishment of the Cuban-supported Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as Chairman. Most of the resistance came from Cuban construction workers, while the Grenadan People's Revolutionary Army surrendered without putting up much resistance. The Cuban casualties amounted to 24 killed, with only 2 of them being professional soldiers, and the remainder of the Cuban force on the island was expelled.[63]
Espionage in Venezuela
Ties between Cuba and Venezuela resumed in 1974 after guerrilla activity decreased in Venezuela. When Cuba began to enter its Special Period which saw domestic economic collapse, it once again became motivated to take control of Venezuela's oil wealth.[64] In 1987, future Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro moved to Cuba[65] where he was trained by Pedro Miret Prieto, a senior member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba with direct links to Fidel Castro.[66] When Maduro returned to Venezuela, he was allegedly tasked with serving as a Cuban mole to infiltrate Hugo Chávez's MBR-200.[67] Venezuelan intelligence had also later discovered that Cuban Dirección de Inteligencia agents remained in Venezuela following the second inauguration of Carlos Andrés Pérez and eventually escalated political tensions during the Caracazo riots in 1989.[64]
In Venezuela, Cuba has continued to be encouraged with intervening in Venezuela so the country can receive necessary commodities and other supplies, such as oil.[68] According to retired Venezuelan General Carlos Julio Peñaloza Zambrano, Cuban agents might have entered Venezuela during Carlos Andrés Pérez's inauguration ceremony, which was attended by Castro, and they may have waited for unrest to occur in Venezuela to exacerbate political tensions after the Caracazo.[64] Still suffering from the effects of Cuba's Special Period, Castro built a relationship with emerging political figure Hugo Chávez.[69]
1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts
During Hugo Chávez's 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, Castro was allegedly involved with the conspiracy and provided logistical assistance in order to establish a Venezuelan president as an ally.[70] In 1994, Chávez and other rebels were pardoned by President Rafael Caldera[71] an alleged accomplice of the 1992 coup attempts.[70] Chávez would go on to visit Cuba the same year on 14 December, during the Special Period, where he was personally received by Castro with head of state honors. During his visit, Chávez gave a speech in the University of Havana Aula Magna before Castro and the Cuban high hierarchy where, among other things, he said "We have a long-term strategic project, in which Cubans have and would have much to contribute" and "it is a project with a horizon of twenty to forty years, a sovereign economic model".[72][73] Chávez was elected president of Venezuela in 1998 and a year later in 1999, he proclaimed that "Venezuela is traveling towards the same sea as the Cuban people", calling Cuba and Venezuela "one country united".[74]
Activities in Venezuela
Following the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Chávez's grew even closer to the Cuban government in order to maintain power[75] and replaced military advisors with Cuban intelligence personnel.[76] Chávez and Castro would now maintain the relationship of Venezuelan commodities traded for Cuban intelligence and logistics so both could maintain popularity.[75] By 2010, former Major General Antonio Rivero claimed that about 92,700 Cuban officials were operating in various offices of Venezuela's government[68] with a 2018 claim of about 46,000 members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces within Venezuela to assist Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro.[77]
Cuba's foreign policy has been fluid throughout history depending on world events and other variables, including relations with the United States. Without massive Soviet subsidies and its primary trading partner, Cuba became increasingly isolated in the late 1980s and early 1990s after the fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, but Cuba opened up more with the rest of the world again starting in the late 1990s when they have since entered bilateral co-operation with several South American countries, most notably Venezuela and Bolivia beginning in the late 1990s, especially after the Venezuela election of Hugo Chávez in 1999, who became a staunch ally of Castro's Cuba. The United States used to stick to a policy of isolating Cuba until December 2014, when Barack Obama announced a new policy of diplomatic and economic engagement. The European Union accuses Cuba of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms". Cuba has developed a growing relationship with the People's Republic of China and Russia. Cuba provided civilian assistance workers – principally medical – to more than 20 countries. More than one million exiles have escaped to foreign countries. Cuba's present foreign minister is Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party, is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the Portuguese Army in the Angolan War of Independence from 1961 to 1974, and defeated the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) in the Angolan Civil War. The party has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975, being the de facto government throughout the civil war and continuing to rule afterwards.
Amílcar Lopes Cabral was a Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, political organizer, and diplomat. He was one of Africa's foremost anti-colonial leaders. He was also a pan-Africanist and intellectual nationalist revolutionary poet.
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal, the party turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was one of the belligerents in the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. Towards the end of the war, the party established a socialist one-party state, which remained intact until multi-party democracy was introduced in the early 1990s. Although the party won the first multi-party elections in 1994, it was removed from power in the 1999–2000 elections. However, it returned to office after winning parliamentary elections in 2004 and presidential elections in 2005, since which it has remained the largest party in the National People's Assembly.
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence, also known as the Bissau-Guinean War of Independence, was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea from 1963 to 1974. It was fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, an armed independence movement backed by Cuba, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Brazil. The war is commonly referred to as "Portugal's Vietnam" because it was a protracted guerrilla war which had extremely high costs in men and material and which created significant internal political turmoil in Portugal.
The Angolan Civil War was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements, the communist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
The Portuguese Colonial War, also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation, and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, was a 13-year-long conflict fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. The Portuguese regime at the time, the Estado Novo, was overthrown by a military coup in 1974, and the change in government brought the conflict to an end. The war was a decisive ideological struggle in Lusophone Africa, surrounding nations, and mainland Portugal.
Corps General Abelardo Colomé Ibarra was a Vice President of the Council of State of Cuba and the Cuban Minister of the Interior, serving in the latter position from 1989, until his retirement in October, 2015. Known as Furry he first laid the foundations of State Security in 1959.
Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz is a Cuban Communist Party leader of African descent, and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The Cuban Revolution was the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's regime by the 26th of July Movement and the establishment of a new Cuban government led by Fidel Castro in 1959.
The military history of Cuba is an aspect of the history of Cuba that spans several hundred years and encompasses the armed actions of Spanish Cuba while it was part of the Spanish Empire and the succeeding Cuban republics.
The Cuban intervention in Angola began on 5 November 1975, when Cuba sent combat troops in support of the communist-aligned People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) against the pro-western coalition of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The intervention came after the outbreak of the Angolan Civil War, which occurred after the former Portuguese colony was granted independence after the Angolan War of Independence. The civil war quickly became a proxy war between the Eastern Bloc, led by the Soviet Union, and the Western Bloc, led by the United States. South Africa and the United States backed UNITA and the FNLA, while communist nations backed the MPLA.
During Angola's civil war, Cuban forces fought alongside the Marxist–Leninist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government; against the Western-backed National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) guerrillas who were aided by the South-African army. The present day outcome of the war resulted in the MPLA changing from a Marxist–Leninist party to a multi-party democratic system based on neoliberal principles. From an economic standpoint, Cuba has lost its preferred status among Angolans and South Africa has become the biggest single investor and trading partner with Angola.
Soviet–Angolan relations were close until the Angolan government renounced Marxist-Leninism in 1990 and adopted a pro-Western foreign policy. The close, personal relationship between President Agostinho Neto and Cuban leader Fidel Castro complicated the Soviet Union's involvement in the Angolan Civil War and foiled several assassination attempts against Neto.
This article deals with the activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Angola. The list of activities may be incomplete due to the clandestine nature of the subject matter.
The political career of Fidel Castro saw Cuba undergo significant economic, political, and social changes. In the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro and an associated group of revolutionaries toppled the ruling government of Fulgencio Batista, forcing Batista out of power on 1 January 1959. Castro, who had already been an important figure in Cuban society, went on to serve as prime minister from 1959 to 1976. He was also the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the communist state, from 1961 to 2011. In 1976, Castro officially became president of the Council of State and president of the Council of Ministers. He retained the title until 2008, when the presidency was transferred to his brother, Raúl Castro, who was vice president. Fidel Castro remained the first secretary of the Communist Party until 2011.
Cuban foreign policy during the Cold War emphasized providing direct military assistance to friendly governments and resistance movements worldwide. This policy was justified directly by the Marxist concept of proletarian internationalism and was first articulated by Cuban leader Fidel Castro at the Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa and Latin America in 1966. However, as an informal policy it had been adopted as early as 1959, shortly after the Cuban Revolution. It formed the basis for a number of Cuban military initiatives in Africa and Latin America, often carried out in direct conjunction with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact member states which provided advisory or logistical support. These operations were often planned by the Cuban general staff through an overseas headquarters known as an internationalist mission.
Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña was a Cuban revolutionary and politician. He participated in the Sierra Maestra guerrilla campaign during the Cuban Revolution and became later involved in the Angola Civil War. He also participated in peace negotiations between Angola and South Africa, which led to the independence of Namibia and contributed to the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid. He was member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1980 to 1991.
Tanks have been utilized on the island of Cuba both within the military and within several conflicts, with their usage and origin after World War II; the Cold War; and the modern era. This includes imported Soviet tanks in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces today as well as American and British designs imported prior to the Cuban Revolution.
Africa–Soviet Union relations are the diplomatic, political, military, and cultural relationships between the Soviet Union and Africa from the 1945 to 1991. The Soviets took little interest until the decolonisation of Africa of the 1950s and early 1960s which created opportunities to expand their influence. Africans were not receptive to the Soviet model of socio-economic development. Instead, the Soviets offered financial aid, munitions, and credits for purchases from the Soviet bloc, while avoiding direct involvement in armed conflicts. Temporary alliances were secured with Angola and Ethiopia. The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union left its successor state, Russia, with greatly diminished influence.
References
↑ Domínguez, Jorge (1989). To Make a World Safe for Revolution: Cuba's Foreign Policy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp.114–120, 168–169. ISBN978-0674893252.
↑ Klepak, Hal (2006). Cuba's Military 1990–2005: Revolutionary Soldiers During Counter-Revolutionary Times. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan. pp.45–48. ISBN978-1403972026.
↑ Hatzky, Christine (2015). Cubans in Angola: South-South Cooperation and Transfer of Knowledge, 1976–1991. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. pp.166–168. ISBN978-0299301040.
↑ Klepak, Hal (2006). Cuba's Military 1990–2005: Revolutionary Soldiers During Counter-Revolutionary Times. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan. pp.45–48. ISBN978-1403972026.
1 2 Domínguez, Jorge (1989). To Make a World Safe for Revolution: Cuba's Foreign Policy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp.114–120, 168–169. ISBN978-0674893252.
↑ Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. McFarland. p.637. ISBN978-0786474707.
↑ Dominik George Nargele, LtCol (2007). Our Wars Overseas and at Home: Ltcol Dominik George Nargele Usmc (Ret). p.133.
↑ Scheina (2003). Latin America's Wars Volume II: The Age of the Professional Soldier, 1900-2001. p.55.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Gleijeses, Piero (2002). Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN978-0-807-82647-8.
↑ Carroll, Rory (2013). Comandante: myth and reality in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela. Penguin Press: New York. pp.98–100. ISBN9781594204579.
↑ Ewell, Judith. Venezuela: A Century of Change, p.145. Stanford University Press (1984), ISBN0-8047-1213-1
↑ Ewell, Judith. Venezuela and the United States: From Monroe's Hemisphere to Petroleum's Empire, p.216. University of Georgia Press (1996), ISBN0-8203-1783-7
↑ Gleijeses, Piero (2002). Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN978-0-807-82647-8.
↑ Bourne, Peter G. (1986). Fidel: A Biography of Fidel Castro. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company.
↑ Pérez, Louis A. Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. pp. 288.
↑ Ra'anan, Gavriel D. (1981). The Evolution of the Soviet Use of Surrogates in Military Relations with the Third World, with Particular Emphasis on Cuban Participation in Africa. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation.
↑ Hudson, Rex. "Coordinating Cuba's Support for Marxist-Leninist Violence in the Americas". Cuban American National Foundation, 1988: "The degree to which Cuba and the Soviet Union are committed to overthrowing the Pinochet government by 'armed struggle' was revealed on August 6, 1986, when Chilean authorities discovered the first of ten FPMR arms caches, totaling seventy tons (the largest stash of weapons ever secretly amassed by extremists in a Latin American country).... Some of the twenty-one individuals captured in connection with the FPMR arsenals, including four Cuban-trained FPMR members, told authorities of meetings in Nicaragua, training in Cuba, and months of preparation to receive the weapons, which arrived in two batches in July 1986. (247)... A State Department official confirmed that U.S. experts had positively established that Cuba sent the weapons. (248) According to Chilean officials, more than 200 individuals participated in transferring the weapons from Soviet and Cuban merchant or fishing ships into chartered Chilean fishing boats, and then in carrying them ashore in rubber dinghies (Zodiacs). (249) Chilean authorities also reported that Cuba, Nicaragua and the Soviet Union provided $20 million through an International Guerrilla Coordinating Committee (CCGI) to finance the landing of weapons and explosives in the northern zone of Chile and the subsequent failed assassination attempt made by the FPMR against General Pinochet. In that action on September 7, 1986, fifteen FPMR terrorists attacked the General's motorcade with grenades and automatic weapons, killing five members of the presidential guard and wounding ten military escorts. (250) According to Chile's director general of Investigative Police, both the FPMR and MIR receive urban guerrilla training in Cuba at the Punto Cero, Pinar del Rio, Trinidad, and Havana camps. The official added that Cuba provides logistical support, whereas the Soviet Union gives them financial and propaganda assistance, and other aid comes from Nicaragua and Libya. (251) Chile's Attorney General Ambrosio Rodríguez reported on January 22, 1988 that Cuban and Nicaraguan agents were commanding a newly created International Guerrilla Coordinating Board (presumably the CCGI) that had politically reunited the MIR and FPMR under Cuban command. He added that MIR and FPMR cadres were being trained in Cuba and East Germany.(252)"
↑ Gleijeses quoting: Westad, Odd Arne in: "Moscow and the Angolan Crisis 1974-76: A New Pattern of Intervention", Cold War International Project Bulletin, n.8-9, p. 25
↑ Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. The University of North Carolina Press, 2003 ISBN0-8078-5464-6 pp. 129–131
↑ George, Edward (2004). The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale. Routledge.
↑ Gleijeses, Piero (2013). Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976-1991. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p.45. ISBN978-1-4696-0968-3.
↑ Impact of Cuban-Soviet Ties in the Western Hemisphere, Spring 1979: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session, April 25 and 26, 1979. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.11.
1 2 3 Peñaloza, Carlos (2014). El Delfín de Fidel: La historia oculta tras el golpe del 4F. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p.185. ISBN978-1505750331. On February 5, 1989, the transmission of Lusinchi's command to Pérez was effected with a lavish ceremony unprecedented in a democracy. Fidel... was pressured by the 'perestroika' that threatened the existence of the Cuban communist regime. The Soviet economic problems made it urgent to control Venezuela to enjoy its oil income... Fidel stole the show with his Bolivarian allusions of the Latin American Union and a call to fight against Yankee imperialism... the Cubans and their materials arrived at Caracas on a bus and the buses and trucks to the Eurobuilding hotel... they were delivered three days before the arrival of Fidel to Cuban G2 officers who paid their rent in advance and made strange demands.... After the 'coronation', part of the Cuban contingent left the country... sources reported from Maiquetía that fewer Cubans had left than those who had entered
↑ Peñaloza, Carlos (2014). Chávez, el delfin de Fidel: la historia secreta del golpe del 4 de febrero. Miami: Alexandria Library. p.184. ISBN978-1505750331. OCLC904959157. Maduro had gone through a long process of formation in Cuba under the protection of Pedro Miret, the powerful Cuban commander and man very close to Fidel.
↑ Peñaloza, Carlos (2014). Chávez, el delfin de Fidel: la historia secreta del golpe del 4 de febrero. Miami: Alexandria Library. p.184. ISBN978-1505750331. OCLC904959157. Maduro returned to Venezuela with the permission to approach Chávez acting as a mole of the G2.
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