Ulterior Motives: Understanding Castro\u27s Intervention in Angola, 1975-1989

Cuba has promoted the exportation of its revolution ever since Castro declared his Marxist-Leninist beliefs in the years after Fulgencio Batista\u27s retreat on New Years Day 1959. Cuban specialists were spotted worldwide in the second half of twentieth century, spreading political dissention in Latin America and overseas. The movements supported by the regime generally took the form of grassroots guerrilla campaigns similar to Cuba\u27s own. There was, however, one notable exception: the full-scale deployment of Cuban troops to the former Portuguese colony of Angola in 1975. This was completely unprecedented in the realm of Cuban foreign policy. Common explanations for Castro\u27s intervention include ideological zeal and a desire to please his Soviet backers, but careful analysis of contemporary evidence suggests another motivation entirely