Foreign interventions by Cuba

Cuba intervened into numerous conflicts during the Cold War. The country sent medical and military aid into foreign countries to aid Socialist governments and rebel groups. These interventionist policies were controversial and resulted in isolation from many countries. Due to the ongoing Cold War, Cuba attempted make allies across Latin America and Africa. Cuba believed it had more freedom to intervene in Africa as the U.S. was more concerned about Latin America. Still, the US was strongly opposed to Cuban involvement in Africa and continued Cuban intervention was a major source of tension. Cuban intervention was often confidential and all Cuban doctors and soldiers were forced to keep their location confidential.

In Latin America, Cuba supported numerous rebel movements, including in Nicaragua, and in Bolivia where Che Guevara attempted to foment an insurgency. In 1959, Cuba unsuccessfully invaded Panama and the Dominican Republic. Within Africa, Cuba supported numerous independence movements, including in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. Che Guevara also went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) to support the Simba rebellion. Cuba's largest foreign interventions were in Angola in support of the MPLA and in Ethiopia in support of Mengistu Haile Mariam during the Ogaden War. Cuba also intervened militarily in the Arab world including in Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, and in support of Syria during the October 1973 War. They also supported the People's Revolutionary Government during the United States invasion of Grenada. While most Cuban military interventions were Soviet-backed, Cuba often worked independently and at times even supported opposing sides. General Leopoldo Cintra Frías, who served in both Angola and Ethiopia, stated, "The Soviets were never able to control us although I think that was their intention on more than one occasion."

Cuban foreign policy was motivated by both idealism and realpolitik. It publicly justified its interventions into foreign conflicts for a number of reasons; to spread their revolutionary ideas, aid "liberation movements" fighting for independence, and to protect the territorial sovereignty of allied nations. Cuban leader Fidel Castro stated: "Our Revolution is not a revolution of millionaires. Instead, it is one carried out by the poor, and is one which dreams of ensuring the well-being not only of our own poor, but rather of all the poor in this world. And that is why we talk of internationalism." Cuba was the only economically lesser developed nation with extensive military intervention in Africa. Cuba was a strong supporter of the Organization for African Unity's emphasis on border protection and African independence.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and facing the economic difficulties during the Special Period, Cuba continued to maintain a presence in Africa, including the service of many doctors. Cuban medical internationalism was a prominent feature of their interventions alongside military aspects. Medical internationalism consisted of four prevailing approaches: emergency response medical teams sent overseas; establishment abroad of public health systems for providing free health care for local residents; taking in foreign patients to Cuba for free treatment; and providing medical training for foreigners, to Cuba and overseas. All Cuban doctors overseas were volunteers.

During the Cold War, Cuba often positioned itself internationally by providing direct military assistance to those who shared the same ideology and to resistance movements with at least 200,000 members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) serving in foreign territories during the period. Cuba perceived its interventions to be a method of directly combating the international influence of the United States. Cuba also sought to place its troops into international conflicts in order to build combat expertise among their ranks.

Informally, Cuba's ambitions of foreign military intervention began shortly after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, though it was officially adopted and pronounced in 1966 by Fidel Castro at the Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Cuba often received military and logistical assistance from the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations when participating in interventionist initiatives throughout Africa and Latin America.

One of the first foreign actions taken by Cuba only months after the Revolution included an attempted coup in Panama on 24 April 1959. The coup was repelled by members of the Panamanian National Guard.

The Dominican Republic was invaded on 14 June 1959. Fifty-six men (Cubans, Guatemalans, Dominican exiles, and American communists) landed a C-56 transport aircraft in Constanza. As soon as the invaders landed, they were massacred by the fifteen-man Dominican garrison. A week later, two yachts offloaded another group of invaders onto Chris-Craft launches for a landing on the north coast. Dominican Air Force pilots fired rockets from their British-made Vampire jets into the approaching launches, killing most of the invaders.