"The Latin-African Nation", Cuban Solidarity in Angola

by Cristina Costa

From the 1970s until the early 1990s, almost 500,000 Cubans crossed the Atlantic in solidarity with Angola. Having just achieved independence after a long and brutal anti-colonial struggle against Portugal, Angola soon confronted incursion by the South African apartheid regime. Named after the leader of a revolt against slavery that took place in Cuba on November 5, 1843, Operación Carlota was Cuba's military mission in support of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). A significant number of the Cubans who served in Angola were descendants of African slaves who had been deported between the 16th-19th centuries and felt compelled to assist their Angolan brothers and sisters in their fight against racism. As such, the majority were filled with the conviction that they were performing a genuine act of political solidarity.

During Operación Carlota, important battles took place that defined the course of the war in favour of the MPLA. Operación Carlota became a historical turning point in the struggle for the total liberation of Africa from apartheid rule. As depicted in this poster through the triumphant hand holding what appears to be a European soldier, black troops – Angolan and Cuban – had defeated white troops in the battlefield. Designed by Victor Manuel Navarrete, this poster belongs to an exhaustive collection of political posters by the Organización Continental Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Estudiantes (OCLAE). OCLAE was founded in 1966 as a student-led mobilisation and coordinating platform towards the struggle against imperialism and social injustice. Through the creation of these posters, the organisation played a remarkable role in educating and strengthening solidarity bonds between students within and outside the Latin American continent. Angola: ¡Victoria de los Pueblos! displays the military victory of the Cuban-Angolan troops against imperialist and racist Portuguese troops. Military victory, however, was just a small step towards sweeping away the advantage that the white man had enjoyed and exploited over years of colonisation and empire. Today, this victory is still yet to be complete.

Cuba’s political drivers for its involvement in Africa were the struggle against colonial powers and imperialist interests with the goal of building up a world-wide anti-imperialist front. The Cuban Revolution was to become internationalised. This solidarity discourse of internationalism was decisively shaped by Che Guevara and his supporters and served as a motive for dispatching Cuban troops and civilian auxiliary helpers and instructors. Indeed, Cuban solidarity with Angola was not only limited to military assistance, but additionally expanded in other realms of civil society covering areas of health, education, and civil engineering.

Hence, Cuba’s role in Angola illustrates the division between those who fight for the genuine cause of freedom, liberation, and justice, and those who wage war to occupy, colonise, and oppress. The Cuban solidarity missions in Africa are a profound challenge to those who argue that the world’s nations and peoples are – and can only be – determined by self-interest and the pursuit of power and wealth. Cuba provides an example of how it is possible to build relations based on genuine solidarity and social love.