ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the 1960s, Cuba had stood virtually alone in the world, harassed by the United States, ostracised by most Latin American countries and increasingly frowned on by the Soviet Union. Ten years later, in contrast, the island enjoyed an unprecedented international prestige. Cuba was chosen as the host country for the Sixth Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979, with Castro as chairman for a four-year period. Thirty-five countries were receiving military and civil aid from Cuba, and like an elder statesman, Castro was giving advice to new revolutionary regimes in different parts of the world.
