OPERATION CARLOTA
The most just, lengthy, large scale and successful internationalist military campaign undertaken by Cuba
40 years ago, on November 5, Operation Carlota commenced in the name of the independence of the people of Angola and all of Africa
Author: Oscar Sánchez Serra | oscar@granma.cu
november 6, 2015 13:11:55
Cubans and Angolans provided an unparalleled example of bravery which led to a historic victory. Photo: Archivo
They are present across more than 3,785,000 Cuban households. It is almost impossible to find a Cuban family that does not count them among its members or friends. They wear no badge to identify them; they blend in with the rest of the people, be it at the grocery store, the ballpark or at a noisy domino table. Their children share the classroom with ours, with no other privilege than having been born in a land that provides them the right to education, to health, to their intellectual development, with equal opportunity.
However, they, the internationalist combatants, are not only heroes but the most faithful heirs of José Martí’s maxim: “Our homeland is humanity”. Forty years ago, on November 5, Cuba would provide the world with one of the most brilliant examples of heroism and, at the same time, humanism. Operation Carlota began, in the name of the independence of the people of Angola and, as such, of all Africa.
The operation was named after a Lukumí slave at the Triunvirato sugar plantation in Matanzas, who in 1843 led one of the many slave rebellions, in which she lost her life. She became a symbol of the heroic deeds of a people in defense of the noblest causes of the planet.
Ceremony to mark 40th anniversary of Operation Carlota
The ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of Cuba’s internationalist mission in Angola was presided over by the First Vice President ofthe Councils of Stateand Ministers,Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, EstebanLazo,president of the Cubanparliament,andother members of the Party’s Politburo
Author: Redacción Digital | internet@granma.cu
november 5, 2015 09:11:26
Photo: Ramón Pacheco Salazar
As a symbol of Cuba’s internationalism, a cultural-political act and military parade to commemorate the solidarity and military support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba to the People’s Republic of Angola was held today, marking the 40th anniversary of the start of Operation Carlota.
At the former Triunvirato sugar plantation in Matanzas, now the RebelSlaveMuseum, the ceremony was presided over by theFirst Vice President ofthe Councils of Stateand Ministers, Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, EstebanLazo,president of the Cubanparliament,andother members of the Party’s Politburo.
At the start of the cultural-political act and military parade, a floral wreath was laid at the monument to the fallen, sent by Fidel and Raúl.
The Cuban military mission in Angola was named Operation Carlota in honor of the legendary rebel slave of the Triunvirato sugar plantation, Carlota, who led one of the largest slave rebellions in Cuba, which took place on November 5, 1843.
Guests at the ceremony included members of the diplomatic corps and the military diplomatic corps accredited in Cuba, internationalist combatants of the FAR and Minint, a representation of the families of the martyrs killed in internationalist missions, a delegation from the Republic of Angola and the Five Cuban anti-terrorist heroes.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic corps of the African nation recalled the feats of the Cuban and Angolan forces and reaffirmed the eternal gratitude of the Angolan people to the Cuban heroes who gave their lives during the mission. In the words of Raúl Castro, “The supreme glory and merit belong to the Cuban people, the real protagonists of this epic feat.”
Ceremonia de la bandera en el acto político-cultural y parada militar por aniversario 40 del inicio de la misión militar internacionalista de Cuba en la República de Angola, Operación Carlota, efectuado en los predios del antiguo ingenio Triunvirato, en el municipio Limonar, en Matanzas, Cuba. Foto: AIN
Parada militar en el acto por el aniversario 40 del inicio de la misión militar internacionalista de Cuba en la República de Angola, Operación Carlota, efectuado en los predios del antiguo ingenio Triunvirato, en el municipio Limonar, en Matanzas, Cuba. Foto: AIN
Jóvenes integrantes de la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria en la Parada militar por el aniversario 40 del inicio de la misión militar internacionalista de Cuba en la República de Angola, Operación Carlota, efectuado en los predios del antiguo ingenio Triunvirato, en el municipio Limonar, en Matanzas, Cuba. Foto: AIN
Carmen Lidia Madem y Danza Espiral, en el momento del acto político-cultural y Parada militar por el aniversario 40 del inicio de la misión militar internacionalista de Cuba en la República de Angola, Operación Carlota, efectuado en los predios del antiguo ingenio Triunvirato, en el municipio Limonar, en Matanzas, Cuba. Foto:
Ceremonia de la bandera en el acto político-cultural y parada militar por aniversario 40 del inicio de la misión militar internacionalista de Cuba en la República de Angola, Operación Carlota, efectuado en los predios del antiguo ingenio Triunvirato, en el municipio Limonar, en Matanzas, Cuba. Foto: AIN
Now that that we are seeing an unprecedented rise in the rate of tourist arrivals to Cuba…will the Cuban tourist industry be able to cope with the anticipated “wave” of visitors?
Author: AIN / Cubadebate | informacion@granma.cu
october 29, 2015 18:10:28
Cuba currently has three cruise ship terminals, seven international ports and 39 scuba diving centers, the majority of which are currently undergoing an intense program of investment works to revive the archipelago’s nautical offers. Photo: http://blogs.infobae.com
Now that that we are seeing an unprecedented rise in the rate of tourist arrivals to Cuba, motivated by the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the island and the U.S., one question is dominating the media agenda. Will the Cuban tourist industry be able to cope with the anticipated “wave” of visitors?
After reaching a record three million visitors, the initial reports for 2015 are promising.
According to official figures, more than two million vacationers arrived in Cuba between January and July, representing a 15.9% increase, as compared to last year.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this trend will continue to grow, with four million international visitors predicted to arrive to the island by the end of the year, bearing in mind the current situation, which has seen the number of U.S. tourists double in comparison to figures registered in previous periods.
By Abayomi Azikiwe posted on October 8, 2015
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Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña, a leading figure in the formation of the Communist Party of Cuba and vital to numerous heroic efforts on the African continent, passed away on Sept. 28 at the age of 85.
Risquet was born on May 6, 1930, and joined the revolutionary youth movement in 1943. He was Cuba’s representative and head for Latin America in the World Federation of Democratic Youth and carried out an internationalist mission in Guatemala in 1954.
During the United States-supported Fulgencio Batista dictatorship in Cuba, he was kidnapped, tortured and incarcerated. He joined the Revolutionary Army in 1958 in the Second Frank País Eastern Front.
Jorge Risquet Valdés-Saldaña, with beard, behind Nelson Mandela.
After the triumph of the Revolution, he held the positions of head of the Political Department and head of operations by the Army in the former Oriente province, Organization Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba in that province, head of the “Patricio Lumumba” Internationalist Battalion in Congo-Brazzaville, Minister of Labor, and head of the Cuban Civil Internationalist Mission in the People’s Republic of Angola between 1975 and 1979.
From the earliest days of its Revolution, Cuba expressed concrete solidarity with the African Liberation Movement. Racism was outlawed in Cuba, and its internationalist outlook permeated the foreign policy of the state.
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