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176-430: [REDACTED] Cuban troops: Total Cuban troops: 337,033–380,000 [REDACTED] MPLA troops: [REDACTED] Soviet troops : [REDACTED] UNITA militants: [REDACTED] FNLA militants: [REDACTED] South African troops : The Cuban intervention in Angola (codenamed Operation Carlota ) began on 5 November 1975, when Cuba sent combat troops in support of

352-879: 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. Some 4,000 Cuban troops helped to turn back a three-pronged advance by the SADF , UNITA, FNLA, and Zairean troops. Later, 18,000 Cuban troops proved instrumental in defeating FNLA forces in

528-580: A spontaneous protest in Havana. From the start of the crisis until 1995, Cuba saw its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 35%. It took another five years for its GDP to reach pre-crisis levels. Cuba has since found a new source of aid and support in the People's Republic of China. In addition, Hugo Chávez , then president of Venezuela , and Evo Morales , former president of Bolivia , became allies and both countries are major oil and gas exporters. In 2003,

704-650: A 30-man patrol of the South African Defence Force (SADF) moved some 50 km into southern Angola and occupied the Ruacana - Calueque hydro-electric complex and other installations on the Cunene River . Several hostile incidences with UNITA and SWAPO frightening foreign worker had been the pretext. The defence of the Calueque dam complex in southern Angola was South Africa's justification for

880-502: A Cuban delegation traveled a second time to Angola to assess the situation, to draw up plans for the training programme as requested by Neto, and to hand over US$ 100,000. Neto had complained "of the little amount of aid from socialist countries and "that the USSR detained aid to the MPLA in 1972, even though they told us that they are now helping with arms, but it's very little compared with their vast needs". Arguelles agreed with Neto as he saw

1056-597: A Somali invasion. On 24 January 1978, Ethiopian and Cuban troops counterattacked, inflicting 3,000 casualties on the Somali forces. In February, Cuban troops launched a major offensive and forced the Somali army back into its own territory. Cuban forces remained in Ethiopia until 9 September 1989. Despite Cuba's small size and the long distance separating it from the Middle East, Castro's Cuba played an active role in

1232-666: A Soviet-led People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) offensive against UNITA, which was still supported by South Africa, leading to the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale and the opening of a second front. This turn of events was considered to have been the major impetus to the success of the ongoing peace talks leading to the 1988 New York Accords , the agreement by which Cuban and South African forces withdrew from Angola while South West Africa gained its independence from South Africa. Cuban military engagement in Angola ended in 1991, while

1408-485: A campaign titled the "revolutionary offensive" was initiated to nationalize all remaining private small businesses, which at the time totaled to be about 58,000 small enterprises. The campaign would spur industrialization in Cuba and focus the economy on sugar production, specifically to a deadline for an annual sugar harvest of 10 million tons by 1970. The economic focus on sugar production involved international volunteers and

1584-613: A collapse in the price of sugar, political unrest, and repression. Protesting students, known as the Generation of 1930, turned to violence in opposition to the increasingly unpopular Machado. A general strike (in which the Communist Party sided with Machado), uprisings among sugar workers, and an army revolt forced Machado into exile in August 1933. He was replaced by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada . In September 1933,

1760-675: A coup in Lesotho in 1986. It was behind a coup attempt in Tanzania in 1983, provided support for rebels in Zimbabwe since independence, carried out raids against African National Congress offices in Maputo , Harare and Gaborone and conducted a counterinsurgency war in Namibia against SWAPO. SWAPO retreated to and operated from bases in Angola, and South Africa was confronted not only with

1936-409: A half-litre tub of vanilla ice cream at the supermarket was reported to cost US$ 31. The higher import tariffs applied to hundreds of items, from garlic to cars. The stated aim was to try to diversify the heavily oil-dependent economy and nurture farming and industry, sectors that have remained weak. These tariffs have caused much hardship in a country where the average salary was US$ 260 per month in 2010,

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2112-567: A joint U.S.-Latin American assault on Francoist Spain to overthrow its authoritarian regime. Cuba lost six merchant ships during the war, and the Cuban Navy was credited with sinking the German submarine  U-176 . Batista adhered to the 1940 constitution's strictures preventing his re-election. Ramon Grau San Martin was the winner of the next election, in 1944. Grau further corroded

2288-461: A memorandum of 11 August 1975, Major Raúl Diaz Argüelles to Major Raúl Castro explained the reasons for the visit and briefed on the contents of the talks. He underlined that the attacks on the part of the FNLA and of Mobutu to the MPLA and the possible development of future actions until independence in the month of November was taken into account and the awareness that "the reactionaries and the imperialists would try all possible methods to avoid having

2464-484: A middle class in most urban areas. After finishing his term in 1944 Batista lived in Florida, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952. Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup that preempted the election. Back in power, and receiving financial, military, and logistical support from the United States government, Batista suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including

2640-873: A mixture of Spanish, African, and Taíno heritages. Cuba developed slowly and, unlike the plantation islands of the Caribbean, had a diversified agriculture. Most importantly, the colony developed as an urbanized society that primarily supported the Spanish colonial empire. By the mid-18th century, there were 50,000 slaves on the island, compared to 60,000 in Barbados and 300,000 in Virginia ; as well as 450,000 in Saint-Domingue , all of which had large-scale sugarcane plantations. The Seven Years' War , which erupted in 1754 across three continents, eventually arrived in

2816-547: A northerly counter current bringing moisture to the city: it has been shown clearly that weakness in the Benguela Current can increase rainfall about sixfold compared with years when that current is strong. A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 , a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100,

2992-556: A purge of his rival Daniel Chipenda 's supporters within the MPLA. The Chipenda faction was largely annihilated, leaving the FLNA as the only remaining obstacle to MPLA control of the city. Chipenda and 2,000 of his surviving troops defected to FLNA around February, which further heightened tensions. FNLA troops, flown in from Zaire, had been taking positions in Luanda since October 1974. The MPLA followed later in smaller numbers. To that point,

3168-404: A refinery is located in the city. Luanda has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. The inhabitants of Luanda are mostly members of the ethnic Ambundu people. In recent decades of the 21st century, the number of ethnic Bakongo and Ovimbundu have also increased. Ethnic Europeans are mainly Portuguese. Luanda was the main host city for the matches of

3344-499: A separate black republic in Oriente Province, but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed. In 1924, Gerardo Machado was elected president. During his administration, tourism increased markedly, and American-owned hotels and restaurants were built to accommodate the influx of tourists. The tourist boom led to increases in gambling and prostitution in Cuba . The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to

3520-415: A strategic point in the middle of the country, fell into the rebels hands on December 31, in a conflict known as the Battle of Santa Clara ). In the 1950s, various organizations, including some advocating armed uprising, competed for public support in bringing about political change. In 1956, Fidel Castro and about 80 supporters landed from the yacht Granma in an attempt to start a rebellion against

3696-657: A sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for an independent Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service. The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War . A great number of the rebels were volunteers from the Dominican Republic , and other countries, as well as numerous Chinese indentured servants . The United States declined to recognize

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3872-550: A total ban on trade between the countries and a freeze on all Cuban-owned assets in the U.S. In February 1960, Castro signed a commercial agreement with Soviet Vice-Premier Anastas Mikoyan . In March 1960, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his approval to a CIA plan to arm and train a group of Cuban refugees to overthrow the Castro government. The invasion (known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion ) took place on 14 April 1961, during

4048-583: A vast expedition through the American Southeast , in search of gold, treasure, fame and power. On 1 September 1548, Gonzalo Perez de Angulo was appointed governor of Cuba. He arrived in Santiago, Cuba, on 4 November 1549, and immediately declared the liberty of all Natives. He became Cuba's first permanent governor to reside in Havana instead of Santiago, and he built Havana's first church made of masonry. By 1570, most residents of Cuba comprised

4224-640: A year, providing training to the Algerian army. In 1964, Cuba organized a meeting of Latin American communists in Havana and stoked a civil war in the capital of the Dominican Republic in 1965, which prompted 20,000 U.S. troops to intervene there. Che Guevara engaged in guerrilla activities in Africa and was killed in 1967 while attempting to start a revolution in Bolivia . Starting in 1968

4400-425: Is Portuguese , although several Bantu languages are also used, chiefly Kimbundu , Umbundu , and Kikongo . The population of Luanda has grown dramatically in recent years, due in large part to war-time migration to the city, which is safe compared to the rest of the country. In 2006, however, Luanda saw an increase in violent crime, particularly in the shanty towns that surround the colonial urban core. There

4576-503: Is a sizable minority population of European origin, especially Portuguese (about 260,000), as well as Brazilians . In recent years, mainly since the mid-2000s, immigration from Portugal has increased due to greater opportunities present in Angola's booming economy. There is a sprinkling of immigrants from other African countries as well, including a small expatriate South African community. A small number of people of Luanda are of mixed race — European/Portuguese and native African. Over

4752-560: Is an island country , comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud , and 4,195 islands , islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the northern Caribbean Sea , Gulf of Mexico , and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both Florida and the Bahamas , west of Hispaniola ( Haiti / Dominican Republic ), and north of Jamaica and

4928-522: Is associated with extinctions of the islands native fauna, particularly its endemic sloths . The Arawakan -speaking ancestors of the Taíno people arrived in the Caribbean in a separate migration from South America around 1,700 years ago. Unlike the previous settlers of Cuba, the Taíno extensively produced pottery and engaged in intensive agriculture. The earliest evidence of the Taíno people on Cuba dates to

5104-822: Is considered part of Latin America. It is a multiethnic country whose people , culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the Taíno Ciboney peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of enslaved Africans and a close relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Cuba is a founding member of the United Nations, G77 , Non-Aligned Movement , Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States , ALBA , and Organization of American States . It has one of

5280-401: Is growing constantly - and in addition, increasingly beyond the official city limits and even provincial boundaries. Luanda is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop. It is also the location of most of Angola's educational institutions, including the private Catholic University of Angola and the public University of Agostinho Neto . It is also the home of the colonial Governor's Palace and

5456-520: Is one of the world's most expensive cities for resident foreigners. In Mercer’s cost of living index, Luanda was ranked as top of the list due to the extremely high costs of goods and security. Luanda sits above Seoul , Geneva and Shanghai in the rankings. These costs have fueled rampant inequality in the city. Skyscrapers are left barren as the price of oil drops. New import tariffs imposed in March 2014 made Luanda even more expensive. As an example,

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5632-452: Is taking place. Large investment (domestic and international), along with strong economic growth, has dramatically increased construction of all economic sectors in the city of Luanda. In 2007, the first modern shopping mall in Angola was established in the city at Belas Shopping mall. Luanda is the starting point of the Luanda railway that goes due east to Malanje. The civil war left

5808-546: Is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and the most populous Lusophone city outside Brazil . In 2020 the population reached more than 8.3 million inhabitants (a third of Angola's population). Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, Luanda was founded in January 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais , being occasionally called "Leonda" or "St Paul de Leonda" by non-portuguese sources. The city served as

5984-469: The 2010 African Cup of Nations . Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded Luanda on 25 January 1576 as "São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda". He had brought one hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Most of the Portuguese community lived within the fort. Several sources from as early as the 17th century called the city "St. Paul de Leonda". In 1618, the Portuguese built

6160-499: The 9th century AD. Descendants of the first settlers of Cuba persisted on the western part of the island until Columbian contact, where they were recorded as the Guanahatabey people, who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. After first landing on an island then called Guanahani on 12 October 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on Cuba on 27 October 1492, and landing in the northeastern coast on 28 October. Columbus claimed

6336-657: The Carnation Revolution in Lisbon on April 25, 1974, with the advent of independence and the start of the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), most of the white Portuguese Luandans left as refugees, principally for Portugal, however many travelled over land to South Africa . The large numbers of skilled technicians among the force of Cuban soldiers sent in to support the Popular Movement for

6512-525: The Cayman Islands . Havana is the largest city and capital. Cuba is the third-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti and the Dominican Republic , with about 10 million inhabitants. It is the largest country in the Caribbean by area. The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited as early as the 4th millennium BC , with the Guanahatabey and Taíno peoples inhabiting the area at

6688-490: The Estádio da Cidadela (the "Citadel Stadium"), Angola's main stadium, with a total seating capacity of 60,000. Luanda has a hot semi-desert climate ( Köppen : BSh ), bordering upon a hot desert climate ( BWh ). The climate is warm to hot but surprisingly dry, owing to the cool Benguela Current , which prevents moisture from easily condensing into rain. Frequent fog prevents temperatures from falling at night even during

6864-662: The Kwanza River . In the 17th century, the Imbangala became the main rivals of the Mbundu in supplying slaves to the Luanda market. In the 1751, between 5,000 and 10,000 slaves were annually sold. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, paradoxically another Portuguese colony. A strong degree of Brazilian influence was noted in Luanda until the Independence of Brazil in 1822. In

7040-558: The Sergeants' Revolt , led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista , overthrew Céspedes. A five-member executive committee (the Pentarchy of 1933 ) was chosen to head a provisional government. Ramón Grau San Martín was then appointed as provisional president. Grau resigned in 1934, leaving the way clear for Batista, who dominated Cuban politics for the next 25 years, at first through a series of puppet-presidents. The period from 1933 to 1937

7216-405: The Soviet Union then succeeded in driving the FNLA out of Luanda by 9 July 1975, and UNITA voluntarily withdrew to its stronghold in the south. The FNLA took up positions east of Quifangondo at the eastern outskirts of the capital, from where it kept up its pressure and eliminated all remaining MPLA presence in the northern provinces of Uíge and Zaire . By August, the MPLA had control of 11 of

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7392-632: The Spanish Caribbean . Spain's alliance with the French pitched them into direct conflict with the British , and in 1762, a British expedition consisting of dozens of ships and thousands of troops set out from Portsmouth to capture Cuba. The British arrived on 6 June, and by August, had placed Havana under siege . When Havana surrendered, the admiral of the British fleet, George Pocock and

7568-782: 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

7744-524: The cosmopolitan city of Luanda was not affected by the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974); economic growth and development in the entire region reached record highs during this period. In 1982, a report called Luanda the "Paris of Africa". By the time of Angolan independence in 1975, Luanda was a modern city with the majority of its population being African, but also dominated by a strong minority of white Portuguese origin. After

7920-531: The dissolution of the Soviet Union , Cuba faced a severe economic downturn in the 1990s, known as the Special Period . In 2008, Fidel Castro retired after 49 years; Raúl Castro was elected his successor. Raúl Castro retired as president in 2018 and Miguel Díaz-Canel was elected president by the National Assembly following parliamentary elections . Raúl Castro retired as First Secretary of

8096-622: The encomienda system, which resembled the feudal system in medieval Europe. Within a century, the Indigenous people faced high incidence of mortality due to multiple factors, primarily Eurasian infectious diseases , to which they had no natural resistance (immunity), aggravated by the harsh conditions of the repressive colonial subjugation. In 1529, a measles outbreak killed two-thirds of those few Natives who had previously survived smallpox . On 18 May 1539, conquistador Hernando de Soto departed from Havana with some 600 followers into

8272-499: The right to strike . He then aligned with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations , and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor Cubans. Batista outlawed the Cuban Communist Party in 1952. After the coup, Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios, though about one-third of

8448-447: The 15 provincial capitals, including Cabinda and Luanda. The fighting was taken up throughout the whole country. The independence movements attempted to seize key strategic points, most importantly the capital on the independence day. Starting in the early 1960s, the three big independence movements enjoyed support from a wide range of countries, in some cases even from the same. By the time of independence, FNLA and UNITA received aid from

8624-582: The 1959 Revolution were policemen, politicians, and informers of the Batista regime accused of crimes such as torture and murder, and their public trials and executions had widespread popular support among the Cuban population. The United States government initially reacted favorably to the Cuban Revolution, seeing it as part of a movement to bring democracy to Latin America. Castro's legalization of

8800-486: The 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife. Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech. In 1975, the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the United States. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions. During the Cold War, Cuban forces were deployed to all corners of Africa, either as military advisors or as combatants. During

8976-469: The 1970s, Fidel Castro dispatched tens of thousands of troops in support of Soviet-backed wars in Africa. He supported the MPLA in Angola ( Angolan Civil War ) and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia ( Ogaden War ). In November 1975, Cuba deployed more than 65,000 troops and 400 Soviet-made tanks in Angola in one of the fastest military mobilizations in history. South Africa developed nuclear weapons due to

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9152-612: The 19th century, still under Portuguese rule, Luanda experienced a major economic revolution. The slave trade was abolished in 1836, and in 1844, Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside Continental Portugal , full of trading companies, exporting (together with Benguela ) palm and peanut oil , wax, copal , timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa , among many other products. Maize, tobacco, dried meat , and cassava flour are also produced locally. The Angolan bourgeoisie

9328-485: The 19th century, the practice of coartacion had developed (or "buying oneself out of slavery", a "uniquely Cuban development"), according to historian Herbert S. Klein. Due to a shortage of white labor, blacks dominated urban industries "to such an extent that when whites in large numbers came to Cuba in the middle of the nineteenth century, they were unable to displace Negro workers." A system of diversified agriculture, with small farms and fewer slaves, served to supply

9504-419: The 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report , Luanda is one of 12 major African cities ( Abidjan , Alexandria , Algiers , Cape Town , Casablanca , Dakar , Dar es Salaam , Durban , Lagos , Lomé , Luanda and Maputo ) which would be the most severely affected by the future sea level rise . It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of USD 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and USD 86.5 billion for

9680-436: The 21st century, the city has been undergoing a major reconstruction. Many new large developments are taking place that will alter its cityscape significantly. Industries present in the city include the processing of agricultural products, beverage production, textile, cement, new car assembly plants, construction materials, plastics, metallurgy, cigarettes and shoes. The city is also notable as an economic centre for oil, and

9856-562: The Angolan Civil War continued until 2002. Between 1975 to 1991, Cuban casualties in Angola totalled approximately 10,000 dead, wounded, or missing. The Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 in Portugal took the world by surprise and caught the independence movements in its last African colonies unprepared. After smooth negotiations, Mozambique 's independence was granted on 25 June but Angolan control remained disputed between

10032-400: The Angolan and Namibian independence movements dating back to the 1960s, later formalized in a secret alliance codenamed Alcora Exercise . It also ended economic cooperation with regard to the Cunene hydro-project at the Angolan-Namibian border, which South Africa had financed. South African involvement in Angola, subsumed under what it called the South African Border War, started in 1966 when

10208-478: The Batista government. In 1958, Castro's July 26th Movement emerged as the leading revolutionary group. The U.S. supported Castro by imposing a 1958 arms embargo against Batista's government. Batista evaded the American embargo and acquired weapons from the Dominican Republic. By late 1958, the rebels had broken out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection . After Castro's fighters captured Santa Clara , Batista fled with his family to

10384-429: The British occupation of the city proved short-lived. Pressure from London on sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sugar prices, forced negotiations with the Spanish over the captured territories. Less than a year after Britain captured Havana, it signed the 1763 Treaty of Paris together with France and Spain, ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. Cubans constituted one of

10560-441: The CIRs with almost 500 Cubans instead of the requested 100, which were to form about 4,800 FAPLA recruits into 16 infantry battalions, 25 mortar batteries and various anti-aircraft units in three to six months. These 500 men included 17 in a medical brigade and 284 officers. "The decision to expand the operation reflected a feeling in Havana that ... there had to be enough of them to fulfil their mission as well as defend themselves in

10736-465: The Communist Party and retained broad authority, including oversight over the president. Cuba approved a new constitution in 2019. The optional vote attracted 84.4% of eligible voters. 90% of those who voted approved of the new constitution and 9% opposed it. The new constitution states that the Communist Party is the only legitimate political party, describes access to health and education as fundamental rights, imposes presidential term limits, enshrines

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10912-441: The Communist Party in 2021 and Díaz-Canel was elected. Cuba is a socialist state , in which the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution . Cuba has an authoritarian government where political opposition is not permitted. Censorship is extensive and independent journalism is repressed; Reporters Without Borders has characterized Cuba as one of the worst countries for press freedom. Culturally, Cuba

11088-436: The Communist Party and the hundreds of executions of Batista agents, policemen, and soldiers that followed caused a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. The promulgation of the Agrarian Reform Law , expropriating thousands of acres of farmland (including from large U.S. landholders), further worsened relations. In response, between 1960 and 1964 the U.S. imposed a range of sanctions, eventually including

11264-413: The Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York City in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain. In January 1895, Martí traveled to Monte Cristi and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez . Martí recorded his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi . Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí

11440-514: The Cuban government had imposed broad restrictions on travel to prevent the mass emigration of people after the 1959 revolution; it approved exit visas only on rare occasions. Requirements were simplified: Cubans need only a passport and a national ID card to leave; and they are allowed to take their young children with them for the first time. However, a passport costs on average five months' salary. Observers expect that Cubans with paying relatives abroad are most likely to be able to take advantage of

11616-496: The Cuban military involvement in Africa was the significant presence of black or mixed-race soldiers among the Cuban forces. According to one source, more than 300,000 Cuban military personnel and civilian experts were deployed in Africa. The source also states that out of the 50,000 Cubans sent to Angola, half contracted AIDS and that 10,000 Cubans died as a consequence of their military actions in Africa. Soviet troops began to withdraw from Cuba in September 1991, and Castro's rule

11792-399: The Cubans was helping the MPLA to keep hold of Luanda. Fidel Castro explained the Cuban intervention: "When the invasion of Angola by regular South African troops started 23 October, we could not sit idle. And when the MPLA asked us for help, we offered the necessary aid to prevent Apartheid from making itself comfortable in Angola". Cuba Cuba , officially the Republic of Cuba ,

11968-467: The Dominican Republic on 1 January 1959. Later he went into exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira and finally settled in Estoril, near Lisbon. Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital on 8 January 1959. The liberal Manuel Urrutia Lleó became the provisional president. According to Amnesty International , official death sentences from 1959 to 1987 numbered 237 of which all but 21 were carried out. The vast majority of those executed directly following

12144-402: The FNLA by the end of December 1975. In 1975 China were also the first to pull out of the area after the Portuguese Revolution. When their support ceased FNLA and UNITA became firmly established in the western camp. The United States had a history of supporting the Salazar regime in Portugal. They allowed NATO equipment to be used in Angola during the Independence War. U.S. support for the FNLA

12320-600: The FNLA. As the CIA was suspicious of the left-leaning MPLA, it "had no wish to see the US government deal with the MPLA" and it did not want them to be part of the transitional government. The US increased its support for the FNLA and for the first time took up funding of UNITA. On 18 July 1975, U.S. president Ford approved covert CIA operation " IAFEATURE " to aid FNLA and UNITA with money (US $ 30 million), arms and instructors. U.S. military instructors (CIA) arrived in southern Angola in early August, where they closely cooperated with their South African counterparts who arrived around

12496-479: The Fourth and Seventh Zairian Commando Battalions. From July to November the front moved back and forth between Caxito and Quifangondo (Kifangondo). Neto asked the Soviet Union for more support which had no intention to send any staff before independence and only reluctantly sent more arms. The Cubans were busy dealing with the arrival of the contingents for the CIRs and it was only on 19 October that they paid sufficient attention to Luanda's precarious position. Realizing

12672-783: The Government. Most resistance came from Cuban construction workers, while the Grenadan People's Revolutionary Army and militia surrendered without putting up much of a fight. 24 Cubans were killed, with only 2 of them being professional soldiers, and the remainder were expelled from the island. U.S. casualties amounted to 19 killed, 116 wounded, and 9 helicopters destroyed. During the 1970s and 1980s, Castro supported Marxist insurgencies in Guatemala , El Salvador , and Nicaragua . Cuba gradually withdrew its troops from Angola in 1989–91. An important psychological and political aspect of

12848-418: The Liberation of Angola ( MPLA ) government in the Angolan Civil War were able to make a valuable contribution to restoring and maintaining basic services in the city. In the following years, however, slums called musseques —which had existed for decades—began to grow out of proportion and stretched several kilometres beyond Luanda's former city limits as a result of the decades-long civil war, and because of

13024-624: The MPLA and UNITA "had given every sign of intending to honour the Alvor agreement". However, fighting broke out in Luanda between the FNLA and the MPLA. The FNLA was backed by Mobutu , the U.S., and China. By March, the FNLA from northern Angola was driving on Luanda joined by units of the Zairian army which the U.S. had encouraged Mobutu to provide. On 28 April 1975, the FNLA unleashed a second wave of attacks and in early May, 200 Zairian troops crossed into northern Angola in its support. Neto requested

13200-402: The MPLA army, FAPLA. In December 1974 and January 1975, Cuba sent Major Alfonso Perez Morales and Carlos Cadelo on a fact finding mission to Angola to assess the situation. In a letter of 26 January 1975, handed to Cadelo and Morales, Neto listed what the MPLA wanted from Cuba, including "The establishment, organization, and maintenance of a military school for cadres", "A [Cuban] ship to transport

13376-783: The MPLA cooled as Havana turned its attention to the independence struggle in Guinea-Bissau . Following Castro's tour of African countries in May 1972 Cuba stepped up its internationalist operations in Africa starting a training mission in Sierra Leone and smaller technical missions in Equatorial Guinea , Somalia , Algeria and Tanzania . In a memorandum of 22 November 1972, the Cuban Major Manuel Piñeiro Losada communicated to Raúl Castro

13552-525: The MPLA in control of Luanda; "neither the United States nor South Africa were willing to accept that." The SADF set up a training camp near Silva Porto and prepared the defences of Nova Lisboa (Huambo). They assembled the mobile attack unit "Foxbat" to stop approaching FAPLA-units with which it clashed on 5 October 1975, thus saving Nova Lisboa for UNITA. On 14 October 1975, the South Africans secretly launched Operation Savannah when Task Force Zulu,

13728-508: The MPLA's request for small amounts of training and crew. These considerations in 1972 bore no fruit and Cuba's attentions remained focused on Guinea-Bissau. It was only after the Portuguese Revolution that an MPLA delegation brought a request for economic aid, military training and arms to Cuba on 26 July 1974. In early October Cuba received another request, this time more urgent, for five Cuban military officers to help organize

13904-415: The OAS". Fidel Castro wrote that Cuba would not rejoin the OAS, which, he said, was a "U.S. Trojan horse" and "complicit" in actions taken by the U.S. against Cuba and other Latin American nations. Effective 14 January 2013, Cuba ended the requirement established in 1961, that any citizens who wish to travel abroad were required to obtain an expensive government permit and a letter of invitation. In 1961

14080-419: The Portuguese were preparing to withdraw from their African colonies. The MPLA's hopes for aid were turned to the eastern Bloc countries from where not enough help materialised according to their wishes. Neto is quoted in a Cuban report complaining about Moscow's lacklustre support. He also expressed hope that the war in Angola would become "a vital issue in the fight against imperialism and socialism". But neither

14256-416: The Portuguese. The Soviet Union started modest military aid in the late 1960s. This support remained clandestine, came in trickles and sometimes ceased altogether. This was the case in 1972, when the MPLA came under strong pressure from the Portuguese and was torn apart by internal strife (struggle between MPLA leader António Agostinho Neto and Chipenda from 1972 to 1974). Soviet aid was suspended in 1973 with

14432-665: The Province was enlarged by the addition of two additional municipalities transferred from Bengo Province , namely Icolo e Bengo, and Quiçama. Excluding these additions, the five municipalities comprise Greater Luanda: Two new municipalities have been created within Greater Luanda since 2017: Talatona and Kilamba-Kiaxi The city of Luanda is divided in six urban districts: Ingombota , Angola Quiluanje, Maianga, Rangel, Samba and Sambizanga. In Samba and Sambizanga, more high-rise developments are to be built. The capital Luanda

14608-598: The Republic of Cuba. Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment , the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base from Cuba. Following disputed elections in 1906, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma , faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated

14784-569: The Republic of the Congo where it was invited by its new leftist government. The FNLA stayed in Congo-Léopoldville to which it remained closely tied and from where it received the bulk of its support. FNLA leader Holden Roberto was linked to Mobutu by marriage and obligated to him for many past favours. Over the years, the FNLA had become little more than an extension of Mobutu's own armed forces. Much of Zaire's support came indirectly from

14960-828: The Soviets increase its military aid to the MPLA. During March 1975, Soviet pilots flew thirty planeloads of weapons into Brazzaville , where they were then transported to Luanda. The Soviet Union airlifted thirty million dollars' worth of weaponry to the MPLA in three months, while Cuba deployed a contingent of 230 military advisers and technicians to the MPLA, with the first advisers arriving in May. The fighting intensified with street clashes in April and May, and UNITA became involved after over two hundred of its members were massacred by an MPLA contingent in June 1975. The initially weaker MPLA retreated south, but with supplies finally arriving from

15136-405: The Soviets nor the MPLA itself expected a major war to break out before independence. In March 1975 the MPLA sent 100 of its members for training in the Soviet Union and also requested financial assistance from Yugoslavia, who gave 100,000 dollars. Portugal's sudden retreat from Angola and Mozambique in 1975 ended a history of South African military and intelligence cooperation with Portugal against

15312-406: The U.S., which Zaire's leader Mobutu had close ties with. Zaire was the first country to send troops to Angola in March 1975 and to engage in fighting against the MPLA by the summer of that year. In the summer of 1974, China was first to act after the Portuguese Revolution and posted 200 military instructors to Zaire where they trained FNLA troops and supplied military assistance. Chinese involvement

15488-579: The United States declared war on each other in late April 1898. After the Spanish–American War , Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898) , by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam to the United States for the sum of US$ 20 million and Cuba became a protectorate of the United States. Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on 20 May 1902, as

15664-560: The United States of America, Zaire, South Africa and China. As long as Portugal was present in Angola, the movements had to have their headquarters in independent neighbouring countries, making Congo-Léopoldville ( Democratic Republic of the Congo , formerly Belgian), for both MPLA and FNLA a logical choice. After its expulsion from Kinshasa in November 1963, the MPLA moved across the Congo River to formerly French Congo-Brazzaville in

15840-465: The United States. Additionally, while the embargo between the United States and Cuba was not immediately lifted, it was relaxed to allow import, export, and certain limited commerce. Raúl Castro stepped down from the presidency on 19 April 2018 and Miguel Díaz-Canel was elected president by the National Assembly following parliamentary elections . Raúl Castro remained the First Secretary of

16016-435: The annual Luanda International Jazz Festival , since 2009. The city is home to numerous museums, including: Other monuments in the city include: Around one-third of Angolans live in Luanda, 53% of whom live in poverty. Living conditions in Luanda are poor for most of the people, with essential services such as safe drinking water and electricity still in short supply, and severe shortcomings in traffic conditions. Luanda

16192-525: The attacks on the Cuban government, manufacturing a reason for the United States to invade Cuba. This plan was rejected by President Kennedy. By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged communist system modeled on the USSR. In 1963, Cuba sent 686 troops together with 22 tanks and other military equipment to support Algeria in the Sand War against Morocco. The Cuban forces remained in Algeria for over

16368-486: The base of the already teetering legitimacy of the Cuban political system, in particular by undermining the deeply flawed, though not entirely ineffectual, Congress and Supreme Court. Carlos Prío Socarrás , a protégé of Grau, became president in 1948. The two terms of the Auténtico Party brought an influx of investment, which fueled an economic boom, raised living standards for all segments of society, and created

16544-609: The bulk arrived after a two-week trip aboard three Cuban cargo vessels; the first one, the "Vietnam Heroico" docked at Porto Amboim on 5 October. The arrival of two Cuban ships in Angola with instructors on board was reported by the CIA and raised no alarm in Washington. The CIRs were placed in Cabinda, Benguela , Saurimo (formerly Henrique de Carvalho) and at N'Dalatando (formerly Salazar). The CIR in Cabinda accounted for almost half of

16720-422: The capacity of the city, especially because much of its infrastructure (water, electricity, roads etc.) had become obsolete and degraded. Luanda has been undergoing major road reconstruction in the 21st century, and new highways are planned to improve connections to Cacuaco , Viana , Samba , and the new airport. Major social housing is also being constructed to house those who reside in slums, which dominate

16896-436: The centre of the slave trade to Brazil before the institution was prohibited. At the start of the Angolan Civil War in 1975, most of the white Portuguese left as refugees, principally migrating to Portugal. Luanda's population increased greatly from internal refugees fleeing the war, but its infrastructure was inadequate to handle the increase. This also caused the exacerbation of slums, or musseques , around Luanda. In

17072-505: The cities with produce and other goods. In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states , Cuba remained loyal to Spain. Its economy was based on serving the empire. By 1860, Cuba had 213,167 free people of color (39% of its non-white population of 550,000). Full independence from Spain was the goal of a rebellion in 1868 led by planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes . De Céspedes,

17248-495: The climate of Luanda in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Guatemala City . The annual temperature would increase by 0.7 °C (1.3 °F), the temperature of the coldest month by 0.4 °C (0.72 °F), and the temperature of the warmest month by 0.1 °C (0.18 °F). According to Climate Action Tracker , the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5. Moreover, according to

17424-441: The closest allies of both UNITA and FNLA. Other western countries with their own clandestine support for FNLA and UNITA were Great Britain and France. Israel supported the FNLA from 1963 to 1969 and the FNLA sent members to Israel for training. Through the 1970s Israel shipped arms to the FNLA via Zaire. Some Eastern Bloc countries and Yugoslavia first established ties with the MPLA in the early 1960s during its struggle against

17600-524: The commander of the land forces George Keppel , the 3rd Earl of Albemarle , entered the city, and took control of the western part of the island. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Though Havana, which had become the third-largest city in the Americas, was to enter an era of sustained development and increasing ties with North America during this period,

17776-724: The completely dry months from May to October. Luanda has an annual rainfall of 405 millimetres (15.9 in), but the variability is among the highest in the world, with a co-efficient of variation above 40 percent. The climate is largely influenced by the offshore Benguela current. The current gives the city a surprisingly low humidity despite its tropical latitude, which makes the hotter months considerably more bearable than similar cities in Western/Central Africa. Observed records since 1858 range from 55 millimetres (2.2 in) in 1958 to 851 millimetres (33.5 in) in 1916. The short rainy season in March and April depends on

17952-557: The conflict with the Namibian independence movement, South West Africa People's Organization ( SWAPO ), which at that time had its bases in Ovamboland and Zambia , first flared up. With the loss of the Portuguese as an ally and the establishment of pro-SWAPO communist rule in the two former colonies, the apartheid regime lost highly valued sections of its "cordon sanitaire" ( buffer zone ) between itself and hostile black Africa. In

18128-417: The event the operation went awry. It was nevertheless clear that ...they expected it (the mission) to be short term and to last around 6 months". The dispatch of the Cuban volunteers started 21 August and an advance party with the most urgently needed specialists used international commercial flights. Small groups continued to trickle into Luanda on such flights as well as on Cuba's aging Britannia planes and

18304-461: The exception of a few limited shipments in 1974 to counter Chinese support for the FNLA; only Yugoslavia continued to send supplies to the MPLA. In response to U.S. and Chinese support for the FNLA, Soviet support for the MPLA massively increased in March 1975 in the form of arms deliveries by air via Brazzaville and by sea via Dar es Salaam . Soviet assistance to the MPLA was always somewhat reluctant; they never fully trusted Neto and their relationship

18480-586: The first high-level talks on 5 January 1965 in Brazzaville where Cuba was establishing a two-year military mission. This mission had the primary purpose to act as a strategic reserve for the Cuban operation in eastern Congo. It also was to provide assistance to the Alphonse Massemba-Débat government in Brazzaville and, at Neto's request, to the MPLA with its operations against the Portuguese in Cabinda and in northern Angola where its major foe

18656-458: The first of several South African columns, crossed from Namibia into Cuando Cubango. Southern Angola was in chaos with the three independence movements fighting each other for dominance. It took FAPLA some time, before it noticed who else it was up against and the SADF advanced very quickly. Task force Foxbat joined the intervention in mid-October. The operation provided for elimination of the MPLA from

18832-545: The first permanent deployment of regular SADF units inside Angola. On 22 August 1975, the SADF launched operation "Sausage II", a major raid against SWAPO in southern Angola. In addition, on 4 September 1975, Vorster authorized the provision of limited military training, advice and logistical support. In turn FNLA and UNITA would help the South Africans fighting SWAPO. Due to the recent MPLA's successes, UNITA's territory had been shrinking to parts of central Angola, and it became clear to South Africa that independence day would find

19008-529: The following years South Africa engaged in numerous military and economic activities in the region, backing RENAMO in the Mozambican Civil War , undertaking various measures at economic destabilization against Botswana , Lesotho , Malawi , Mozambique , Swaziland , Tanzania , Zambia , and Zimbabwe , backing an unsuccessful mercenary intervention in the Seychelles in 1981, and supporting

19184-473: The forces of the MPLA take power". The same day Argüelles proposed a 94-man mission to Castro. On 15 August, Castro urged the USSR to increase support for the MPLA, offered to send special troops and asked for assistance. The Russians declined. In view of the Zairian intervention in the north and the South African occupation of Ruacana-Calueque hydro-electric complex in the south, it was decided to staff

19360-580: The fortress called Fortaleza São Pedro da Barra , and they subsequently built two more: Fortaleza de São Miguel (1634) and Forte de São Francisco do Penedo (1765–66). Of these, the Fortaleza de São Miguel is the best preserved. Luanda was Portugal's bridgehead from 1627, except during the Dutch rule of Luanda , from 1640 to 1648, as Fort Aardenburgh. The city served as the centre of slave trade to Brazil from c.  1550 to 1836. The slave trade

19536-614: The frequent absence of essential drugs. A 2023 study by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), estimated 88% of the population is living in extreme poverty. The traditional diet is of international concern due to micronutrient deficiencies and lack of diversity. As highlighted by the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations, rationed food meets only a fraction of daily nutritional needs for many Cubans, leading to health issues. Historians believe

19712-554: The government arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring" . In February 2008, Fidel Castro resigned as President of the State Council due to the serious gastrointestinal illness which he had suffered since July 2006. On 24 February, the National Assembly elected his brother Raúl Castro the new president. In his inauguration speech, Raúl promised that some of

19888-430: The high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to 137.5 billion USD in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to USD 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, USD 206 billion for RCP8.5 and USD 397 billion under

20064-406: The high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. The inhabitants of Luanda are primarily members of African ethnic groups, mainly Ambundu , Ovimbundu , and Bakongo . The official and the most widely used language

20240-446: The island followed. The U.S. battleship USS Maine was sent to protect American interests, but soon after arrival, it exploded in Havana harbor and sank quickly, killing nearly three-quarters of the crew. The cause and responsibility for the sinking of the ship remained unclear after a board of inquiry. Popular opinion in the U.S., fueled by active yellow press , concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action. Spain and

20416-463: The island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana ("John's Island") after John, Prince of Asturias . In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa . Other settlements soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana , founded in 1514 (southern coast of the island) and then in 1519 (current place), which later became the capital (1607). The Indigenous Taíno were forced to work under

20592-553: The issue of having to cross another border in pursuit of SWAPO but also of another leftist government in the region. Unlike the other countries in the region, South Africa had no economic leverage on Angola, thus making military action the only possible means to exert any influence on the course of events. On 14 July 1975, South African Prime Minister John Vorster approved weapons worth US $ 14 million to be bought secretly for FNLA and UNITA. First arms shipments for FNLA and UNITA from South Africa arrived in August 1975. On 9 August 1975,

20768-511: The landscape of Luanda. A large Chinese firm has been given a contract to construct the majority of replacement housing in Luanda. The Angolan minister of health recently stated poverty in Angola will be overcome by an increase in jobs and the housing of every citizen. Luanda is divided into two parts, the Baixa de Luanda (lower Luanda, the old city) and the Cidade Alta (upper city or

20944-422: The largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities. Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems. Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which

21120-504: The last decades, a significant Chinese community has formed, as has a much smaller Vietnamese community. Among the places of worship , several are predominantly Christian churches and congregations: As the economic and political center of Angola, Luanda is similarly the epicenter of Angolan culture. The city is home to numerous cultural institutions, including the Sindika Dokolo Foundation . The city hosts

21296-418: The latest year for which data was available. However, the average salary in the booming oil industry was over 20 times higher at US$ 5,400 per month. Manufacturing includes processed foods , beverages , textiles , cement and other building materials, plastic products, metalware, cigarettes , and shoes/clothes. Petroleum (found in nearby off-shore deposits) is refined in the city, although this facility

21472-486: The many diverse units which fought alongside Spanish and Floridan forces during the conquest of British-controlled West Florida (1779–81). The largest factor for the growth of Cuba's commerce in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was the Haitian Revolution . When the enslaved peoples of what had been the Caribbean's richest colony freed themselves through violent revolt, Cuban planters perceived

21648-524: The meager government forces. The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. Cuban historians have characterized Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption. In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected president, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish

21824-488: The mission Operation Carlota , after ' Black Carlota ', the leader of a slave rebellion in 1843. The same day, a first plane with 100 heavy weapon specialists, which the MPLA had requested in September, left for Brazzaville, arriving in Luanda on 7 November. On 9 November the first two Cuban planes arrived in Luanda with the first 100 men of a contingent of a 652-strong battalion of elite Special Forces. The first priority of

22000-420: The mobilization of workers from all sectors of the Cuban economy. Economic mobilization also coincided with greater militarization of Cuban political structures and society in general. The ten million ton harvest goal was not reached. The Cuban economy feell into decline after large sectors of the economy were neglected when large amounts of urban labor mobilized to the countryside. The standard of living in

22176-405: The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language ; however, "its exact derivation [is] unknown". The exact meaning of the name is unclear, but it may be translated either as 'where fertile land is abundant' ( cubao ), or 'great place' ( coabana ). Humans first settled Cuba around 6,000 years ago, descending from migrations from northern South America or Central America. The arrival of humans on Cuba

22352-562: The new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so. In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–80, Cuban patriot Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but failed to receive enough support. Slavery in Cuba was abolished in 1875 but the process was completed only in 1886. An exiled dissident named José Martí founded

22528-411: The new part). The Baixa de Luanda is situated next to the port, and has narrow streets and old colonial buildings. However, new constructions have by now covered large areas beyond these traditional limits, and a number of previously independent nuclei — like Viana — were incorporated into the city. Until 2011, the former Luanda Province comprised what now forms five municipalities . In 2011

22704-399: The new policy. In the first year of the program, over 180,000 left Cuba and returned. As of December 2014 , talks with Cuban officials and American officials, including President Barack Obama , resulted in the release of Alan Gross , fifty-two political prisoners, and an unnamed non-citizen agent of the United States in return for the release of three Cuban agents currently imprisoned in

22880-519: The north and UNITA in the south. The Cuban army also assisted the MPLA in repressing separatists from the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC). By 1976, the Cuban military presence in Angola had grown to nearly 36,000 troops. By effectively driving out the internationally isolated South African forces, Cuba was able to secure control over all the provincial capitals in Angola. Following

23056-419: The population was considered poor and enjoyed relatively little of this consumption. However, in his " History Will Absolve Me " speech, Fidel Castro mentioned that national issues relating to land, industrialization, housing, unemployment, education, and health were contemporary problems. In 1958, Cuba was a well-advanced country in comparison to other Latin American regions. Cuba was also affected by perhaps

23232-667: The presence of a Cuban tank brigade in the Golan Heights , which was supported by two brigades. The Israelis and the Cuban-Syrian tank forces engaged in battle on the Golan front. In 1979, the U.S. objected to the presence of Soviet combat troops on the island. Following the 1983 coup that resulted in the execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and establishment of the military government led by Hudson Austin , U.S. forces invaded Grenada in 1983, overthrowing

23408-586: The region during the Cold War. In 1972, a major Cuban military mission consisting of tank, air, and artillery specialists was dispatched to South Yemen . Cuban military advisors were sent to Iraq in the mid-1970s but their mission was canceled after Iraq invaded Iran in 1980. The Cubans were also involved in the Syrian-Israeli War of Attrition (November 1973–May 1974) that followed the Yom Kippur War (October 1973). Israeli sources reported

23584-436: The region's changing circumstances with both a sense of fear and opportunity. They were afraid because of the prospect that slaves might revolt in Cuba as well, and numerous prohibitions during the 1790s of the sale of slaves in Cuba who had previously been enslaved in French colonies underscored this anxiety. The planters saw opportunity, however, because they thought that they could exploit the situation by transforming Cuba into

23760-469: The restrictions on freedom in Cuba would be removed. In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of his brother's appointees . On 3 June 2009, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group. The resolution stated, however, that full membership would be delayed until Cuba was "in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of

23936-445: The right to labor and health care. Batista was elected president in the same year, holding the post until 1944. He is so far the only non-white Cuban to win the nation's highest political office. His government carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration. Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War II—though president Batista did suggest

24112-507: The right to legal representation upon arrest, recognizes private property, and strengthens the rights of multinationals investing with the state. Any form of discrimination harmful to human dignity is banned under the new constitution. Raúl Castro announced at the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba , which began on 16 April 2021, that he was retiring as secretary of the Communist Party. His successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel,

24288-447: The rise of deep social inequalities due to large-scale migration of civil war refugees from other Angolan regions. For decades, Luanda's facilities were not adequately expanded to handle this huge increase in the city's population. After 2002, with the end of the civil war and high economic growth rates fuelled by the wealth provided by the increasing oil and diamond production, major reconstruction started. Luanda has also become one of

24464-541: The rural population into what he called reconcentrados , described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps . Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the Spanish concentration camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and United States Senator Redfield Proctor , a former Secretary of War . American and European protests against Spanish conduct on

24640-451: The same day as the ceasefire. FLEC was not part of the deal because it fought for the independence of Cabinda, which the Portuguese had administratively joined as an exclave to Angola. Fighting in Luanda (referred to as the "Second War of Liberation" by the MPLA) resumed hardly a day after the transitional government took office, when Agostinho Neto took advantage of the ceasefire to launch

24816-490: The same defence line to the east of Kifangondo. Yet unnoticed by the Cubans, the territory the MPLA had just gained in the south was quickly lost to the South African advances. After South African advisors and antitank weapons had helped to stop an MPLA advance on Nova Lisboa (Huambo) in early October, Zulu took Roçadas by 20 October, Sá da Bandeira by 24 October and Moçâmedes by 28 October. On 2–3 November, Cuban instructors for

24992-403: The same time. The support involved the recruitment of mercenaries and an expanded propaganda campaign against the MPLA. Author Wayne Smith states that the U.S. "was publicly committed to an embargo against the delivery of arms to Angolan factions while it was secretly launching a paramilitary programme". South Africa, which was then under a white-minority rule known as Apartheid , soon came to be

25168-479: The sides in Angola "clearly defined, that the FNLA and UNITA represented the international imperialist forces and the Portuguese reaction, and the MPLA represented the progressive and nationalist forces." After the return of the delegation on 8 August, the Cubans considered the options of their instructors in Angola in case of an intervention by South Africa or Zaire which would be either "guerrilla war" or withdrawal to Zambia, where Cuba proceeded to open an embassy. In

25344-610: The slave society and sugar-producing "pearl of the Antilles" that Haiti had been before the revolution. As the historian Ada Ferrer has written, "At a basic level, liberation in Saint-Domingue helped entrench its denial in Cuba. As slavery and colonialism collapsed in the French colony, the Spanish island underwent transformations that were almost the mirror image of Haiti's." Estimates suggest that between 1790 and 1820 some 325,000 Africans were imported to Cuba as slaves, which

25520-513: The southern border area, then from south western Angola, from the central region, and finally for the capture of Luanda. According author to Edward George, the South African government "believed that by invading Angola it could install its proxies and shore up apartheid for the foreseeable future". The United States had known of South Africa's military plans in advance. They encouraged the South Africans and co-operated with them, contrary to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger 's testimony to Congress at

25696-402: The successes in the south, where by mid October the MPLA had gained control of 12 of Angola's provinces and most urban centres, they only barely managed to keep the well equipped FNLA and its allies abreast on the northern front just east of Luanda. The FNLA was receiving arms and equipment from the U.S. via Zaire starting in the end of July and had been strengthened in September by the arrival of

25872-661: The term of President John F. Kennedy . About 1,400 Cuban exiles disembarked at the Bay of Pigs . Cuban troops and local militias defeated the invasion, killing over 100 invaders and taking the remainder prisoner. In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), and later the same year the OAS started to impose sanctions against Cuba of similar nature to the U.S. sanctions. The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 almost sparked World War III . In 1962 American generals proposed Operation Northwoods which would entail committing terrorist attacks in American cities and against refugees and falsely blaming

26048-609: The third time got involved in the fighting, this time 51 men from the CIR Benguela, when they unsuccessfully tried to help the FAPLA stop the Zulu advance near Catengue. This first encounter between Cubans and South Africans also led to the first officially recognized Cuban fatalities. "Their participation led Zulu-Commander Breytenbach to conclude that his troops were 'facing the best organized and heaviest FAPLA opposition to date'". It

26224-526: The threat they shut down the CIR at Salazar only 3 days after it started operating and deployed most of the recruits and Cuban instructors in Luanda. Forty instructors from the CIR Salazar were the first Cubans to become involved in the defence of Quifangondo on 23 October 1975 when they launched an unsuccessful assault one FNLA-Zairian forces at Morro do Cal. A second group supported the MPLA on 28 October along

26400-444: The threat to its security posed by the presence of large numbers of Cuban troops in Angola . In 1976 and again in 1988 at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale , the Cubans alongside their MPLA allies defeated UNITA rebels and apartheid South African forces. In December 1977, Cuba sent its combat troops from Angola, the People's Republic of the Congo, and the Caribbean to Ethiopia, assisted by mechanized Soviet battalions, to help defeat

26576-473: The three already broke out in November 1974, starting in Luanda and quickly spreading across all of Angola. The new leftist Portuguese government showed little interest in interfering but often favored the MPLA. The country soon fell apart into different spheres of influence, the FNLA taking hold of northern Angola and UNITA in the central south. The MPLA mostly held the coastline, the far southeast, and, in November 1974 gained control of Cabinda. The disunity of

26752-406: The three main movements postponed the handing over of power. The Alvor Agreement , which the three and Portugal signed on 15 January, proved not to be a solid foundation for the procedure. The transitional government the agreement provided for was equally composed of the three main independence movements and Portugal. It was sworn in on 31 January 1975; Independence Day was set for 11 November 1975,

26928-521: The three rival independence movements: MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA in Angola-proper and Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) in Cabinda . Until independence, the movements' priority lay in fighting the colonial power and they initially had no clear alliances. With the disappearance of Portugal as their common foe, ethnic and ideological rivalries were prioritized. Fighting between

27104-461: The time of Spanish colonization in the 15th century. It was then a colony of Spain , through the abolition of slavery in 1886, until the Spanish–American War of 1898, when Cuba was occupied by the United States and gained independence in 1902. In 1940, Cuba implemented a new constitution , but mounting political unrest culminated in the 1952 Cuban coup d'état and the subsequent dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista . The Batista government

27280-531: The time, and in contrast to what President Ford told the Chinese, who supported the FNLA but were worried about South African engagement in Angola. According to John Stockwell , a former CIA officer, "there was close liaison between the CIA and the South Africans" and "'high officials' in Pretoria claimed that their intervention in Angola had been based on an 'understanding' with the United States". On 3 August,

27456-435: The total, 191 men, while the others had 66 or 67 each. Some were posted in headquarters in Luanda or in other places throughout the country. The reason for the stronger detachment in Cabinda was the perceived threat from Zaire either to Cabinda or to the Congo. By the time the training centres were fully staffed and operational on 18–20 October, unnoticed by the world, Operation Savannah was already in full swing. In contrast to

27632-520: The war materiel that we have in Dar-es-Salaam to Angola", "Uniforms and military equipment for 10,000 men", and "Financial assistance while we are establishing and organizing ourselves." Although Cuba was considering the establishment of a military mission (military training) in Angola, again there was no official response to this request. It was only reiterated by the MPLA in May 1975 when Cuban commander Flavio Bravo met Neto in Brazzaville while

27808-537: The withdrawal of Zaire and South Africa, Cuban forces remained in Angola to support the MPLA government against UNITA in the continuing civil war. South Africa spent the following decade launching bombing and strafing raids from its bases in South West Africa into southern Angola, while UNITA engaged in ambushes, hit-and-run attacks, and harassment of Cuban units. In 1988, Cuban troops, now numbering about 55,000, intervened again to avert military disaster in

27984-553: The world's few planned economies , and its economy is dominated by tourism and the exports of skilled labor, sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Cuba has historically—before and during communist rule—performed better than other countries in the region on several socioeconomic indicators, such as literacy, infant mortality and life expectancy. Cuba has a universal health care system which provides free medical treatment to all Cuban citizens, although challenges include low salaries for doctors, poor facilities, poor provision of equipment, and

28160-493: The world's most expensive cities. The central government supposedly allocates funds to all regions of the country, but the capital region receives the bulk of these funds. Since the end of the Angolan Civil War (1971–2002), stability has been widespread in the country, and major reconstruction has been going on since 2002 in those parts of the country that were damaged during the civil war. Luanda has been of major concern because its population had multiplied and had far outgrown

28336-455: Was a measure against Soviet influence rather than that from western countries. On 27 October 1975, they were also the first to withdraw their military instructors. UNITA, which split away from FNLA in 1965/66 was initially Maoist and received some support from China. China had been training Mobutu's elite division, the Kamanyola , also trained the FNLA but withdrew their support for Zaire and

28512-473: Was a time of "virtually unremitting social and political warfare". On balance, during the period 1933–1940 Cuba suffered from fragile political structures, reflected in the fact that it saw three different presidents in two years (1935–1936), and in the militaristic and repressive policies of Batista as Head of the Army. A new constitution was adopted in 1940, which engineered radical progressive ideas, including

28688-580: Was born by this time. In 1889, Governor Brito Capelo opened the gates of an aqueduct which supplied the city with water, a formerly scarce resource, laying the foundation for major growth. Throughout Portugal's dictatorship, known as the Estado Novo , Luanda grew from a town of 61,208 with 14.6% of those inhabitants being white in 1940, to a wealthy cosmopolitan major city of 475,328 in 1970 with 124,814 Europeans (26.3%) and around 50,000 mixed race inhabitants (10.5%). Like most of Portuguese Angola ,

28864-568: Was comparable to that of the United States , became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions, manipulated by the previous government since 1948 through union "yellowness", supported Batista until the very end. Batista stayed in power until he resigned in December 1958 under the pressure of the US Embassy and as the revolutionary forces headed by Fidel Castro were winning militarily (Santa Clara city,

29040-411: Was conducted mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the port of Luanda. This slave trade also involved local merchants and warriors who profited from the trade. During this period, no large scale territorial conquest was intended by the Portuguese; only a few minor settlements were established in the immediate hinterland of Luanda, some on the last stretch of

29216-557: Was four times the amount that had arrived between 1760 and 1790. Although a smaller proportion of the population of Cuba was enslaved, at times, slaves arose in revolt. In 1812, the Aponte Slave Rebellion took place, but it was ultimately suppressed. The population of Cuba in 1817 was 630,980 (of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 were free people of color (mixed-race), and 224,268 black slaves). In part due to Cuban slaves working primarily in urbanized settings, by

29392-493: Was interested in an ideological balance in his foreign support, but in spite of "overtures" well into 1975, he was unable to procure support for the MPLA from the U.S., thus becoming solely dependent on the eastern camp. Cuba's first informal contacts with the MPLA dated back to the late 1950s. MPLA guerrillas received their first training from Cubans in Algiers starting in 1963 and Che Guevara met MPLA-leader Agostinho Neto for

29568-418: Was only after the MPLA debacle at Catengue that the Cubans became fully aware of the South African intervention, that Luanda would be taken and that their training missions were in grave danger unless they took immediate action. Neto had requested immediate and massive reinforcements from Havana at the urging of Argüelles. On 4 November Castro decided to launch an intervention on an unprecedented scale, codenaming

29744-613: Was overthrown in January 1959 by the 26th of July Movement during the Cuban Revolution . That revolution established communist rule under the leadership of Fidel Castro . The country was a point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into nuclear war . Following

29920-474: Was repeatedly damaged during the Angolan Civil War of 1975–2002. Luanda has an excellent natural harbour; the chief exports are coffee , cotton , sugar , diamonds , iron , and salt . The city also has a thriving building industry, an effect of the nationwide economic boom experienced since 2002, when political stability returned with the end of the civil war. Economic growth is largely supported by oil extraction activities, although great diversification

30096-509: Was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse in December 1991 (known in Cuba as the Special Period ). The country faced a severe economic downturn following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies worth $ 4 billion to $ 6 billion annually, resulting in effects such as food and fuel shortages. The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines and cash until 1993. On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in

30272-686: Was taken up by the Kennedy administration in 1960. Holden Roberto had been on the Central Intelligence Agency 's or CIA's payroll since 1963. On 7 July 1974, the CIA started funding the FNLA on a small scale. On 22 January 1975, one week after the Alvor Accords were signed and just before the provisional government of Angola was to take office, the U.S. National Security Council's " 40 Committee ", which oversaw clandestine CIA operations, authorized US $ 300,000 in covert aid to

30448-544: Was the FNLA. This co-operation marked the beginning of the Cuban-MPLA alliance which was to last 26 years. The MPLA-Cuban operations in Cabinda and northern Angola were met with very little success and the Cubans ended the mission to Brazzaville as planned in July 1966. The MPLA moved its headquarters to Lusaka in early 1968. A few MPLA guerrillas continued to receive military training in Cuba but else contacts between Cuba and

30624-480: Was to remain ambivalent through the following years. The Soviets preferred a political solution, but they did not want to see the MPLA marginalized. Even after the South African incursions the Soviets only sent arms, but no instructors for the use of the sophisticated weapons. Among the other Eastern Bloc countries the MPLA had well established contacts with East Germany and Romania , the former shipping large amounts of non-military supplies. Although being leftist, Neto

30800-406: Was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895. Martí was killed in the Battle of Dos Rios on 19 May 1895. His death immortalized him as Cuba's national hero. Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army, which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler , the military governor of Cuba, herded

30976-418: Was voted in on 19 April. Luanda Luanda (/luˈændə, -ˈɑːn-/, Portuguese: [luˈɐ̃dɐ]) is the capital and largest city of Angola . It is Angola's primary port , and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre , its chief seaport, and also the capital of the Luanda Province . Luanda and its metropolitan area

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