ABSTRACT
It is April 23, 1965, late at night, and fourteen combatants are crossing Lake Tanganyika from Kigoma in Tanzania to Kibamba in Congo. Che and his 13 men were the first resident Cuban combatants to cross into Congo to initiate Castro's intervention in central African country. At the time of Che's crossing, there were only two militarily active rebel areas left in Congo. Che was fortunate that Mulele was fighting in the Kwilu River area, away from the Great Lakes. Che Guevara chose for the location of his HQ a site on top of a 3,000-meter high elevation called by the locals Luluaburg Mountain. The original mission of the 130 Cubans to be provided for the Congo revolution was to train guerrilla fighters. The first documented action of Cuban exiles versus Cubans from Che Guevara's Congo group took place on June 19, 1965. In keeping with the secrecy of the Congo operation, Castro kept Guevara's letter in a secure place.
