Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976

573 Pages·2002·3.29 MB·English

by  Piero Gleijeses

CONFLICTING MISSIONS
ENVISIONING CUBA
louis a. pérez jr., editor
CONFLICTING
MISSIONS
HAVANA,
WASHINGTON,
AND AFRICA,
1959-1976
PIERO GLEIJESES
the university of north carolina press
chapel hill and london

To Setsuko Ono and Letterina Gleijeses

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xiii
Note on Citations xv
Abbreviations xvii
Prologue 5
1 Castro’s Cuba, 1959–1964 12
2 Cuba’s First Venture in Africa: Algeria 30
3 Flee! The White Giants Are Coming! 57
4 Castro Turns to Central Africa 77
5 Che in Zaire 101
6 A Successful Covert Operation 124
7 American Victory 137
8 Cubans in the Congo 160
9 Guerrillas in Guinea-Bissau 185
10 Castro’s Cuba, 1965–1975 214
11 The Collapse of the Portuguese Empire 230
12 The Gathering Storm: Angola, January–October 1975 246
13 South Africa’s Friends 273
14 Pretoria Meets Havana 300
15 Cuban Victory 328
16 Repercussions 347
17 Looking Back 373
Appendix 397
Notes 399
Bibliography 503
Index 539

ILLUSTRATIONS
‘‘Let me take you to the Casbah’’ 33
Sara Perelló, a Cuban doctor in Algeria 34
CIA-sponsored mercenaries lead captured Zairean rebels to be hanged 72
Smiling mercenaries argue for the privilege of doing the stringing up 73
Che Guevara with Angolan rebel leaders in Brazzaville 83
Havana and Moscow, 1964: ‘‘The tone was bitter’’ 94
Víctor Dreke, Che’s closest aide in Zaire 138
The Cubans leave Zaire 144
Che bids farewell to his men 147
The Cubans go to the Congo 162
The Cuban ambassador and two North Vietnamese doctors in Brazzaville 167
‘‘The best gift’’: Cubans carry out the first vaccination campaign against polio
in the Congo 169
Angolan guerrilla women 180
Amílcar Cabral visits the Cuban military camp in Brazzaville 198
They called him ‘‘The Wizard’’: A Cuban doctor in guerrilla territory in
Guinea-Bissau 200
The first Cuban woman to fight in Africa 205
Castro as a Soviet puppet in Angola 306
Quifangondo: The battle to control Luanda 310
South African prisoners of war 322
‘‘Lord Kissinger Needs You’’ 335
‘‘Knuckle-rapping’’ 336
Castro plans his next move in Angola 342
Castro to South Africa: Withdraw or face a Cuban attack 344
Kissinger discovers Africa 391