Cuba: The New Orthodoxy and the Resurgence of Fidel,
Abstract
The concluding months of 1975 saw Cuba again in the international spotlight. In November came the first disclosures that Cuban combat forces had been sent to aid the Marxist-oriented and Soviet-backed Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the civil war that had broken out in the newly independent African state. By mid-December, the Cuban build-up was estimated at between 3,000 to 5,000 troops, with the latter employing some 27 shiploads and 30 planeloads of Soviet equipment sent directly to Angola from the U.S.S.R. This was by far the largest contingent of Cuban military personnel sent overseas, dwarfing the 300 to 400 tank crew and air force personnel said to be Syria. While the Cuban involvement on behalf of the MPLA dramatized the Castro government's readiness to render material aid to leftist movements in the Third World, it also illustrated the extent to which Cuban foreign policy had become synchronized with, and supportive of, Soviet international objectives. In the meantime, Cuba's Angolan involvement ended the cautious moves that had been undertaken by both Washington and Havana toward normalizing relations between the two countries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA093700
Entities
People
- Edward Gonzalez
Organizations
- foreign affairs ministry