The military success of Cuban internationalist troops in this southern Angolan city, along with fighters from that country and from the Southwest African People’s Organization of Namibia (Swapo, for the English acronym) marked the final defeat of apartheid in South Africa.
Cuito Cuanavale was one of the most transcendental battles in history after the fighting of World War II (1939-1945), said the head of the FAR’s Political Directorate, Major General Víctor Rojo, as he recalled the epic in which 55,000 Cubans took part.
During the political-cultural event that took place in the capital’s Sala Universal de las FAR, Rojo pointed out that the crushing defeat of the aggressor enabled the definitive liberation of these nations and shaped the character of the fraternal bonds that unite Cuba to Africa today .
Rarely in history has war, the most terrible, heartbreaking and difficult human act, been accompanied by such a level of humanism, humility and altruism, he stressed.
For the Namibian ambassador to Cuba, Samuel Hendrikg, Cuito Cuanavale marked a milestone as it marked the end of the oppression of racial minorities and changed the geopolitical situation in southern Africa, making it easier for the rest of the nations of that continent to achieve peace.
We are blessed to have friends like Cubans, said the diplomat, who expressed the gratitude of Africans for the generosity and sacrifice of the island’s militants and condemned the blockade that the United States imposed on this nation more than six decades ago.
He urged the young people present – students of the military institutes – to continue the solidarity vocation of the generation before them, because – he warned – imperialism is not a thing of the past.
The event was accredited by the Minister of the FAR, General of the Army Corps Álvaro López Miera, together with leaders of the Cuban Communist Party and the government, representatives of the embassies of Angola and South Africa and members of the military diplomatic corps in La Havana.
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