ABSTRACT
Political parties and politicians appealed to United States (US) ambassadors for support and if Cuban presidents lost favor with an ambassador, they could always appeal directly to Washington. On March 10, 1952, Batista overthrew the elected government of Carlos Prío and cancelled upcoming elections. Images of US-trained Cubans being marched into detention centers shackled, exhilarated left-wing Latin Americans. The energetic response of Cuba’s military remains a source of national pride. The Angolan Civil War’s decisive moment occurred during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. There, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionaria (FAR) achieved control of the skies and forced South African forces to retreat behind the Namibian border. Brigadier General Rafael del Pino, who had fought with Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra, defected with his family to the United States in 1987. FAR officers had a very singular postwar experience compared to officers elsewhere in Latin America.
