Several 1982 sources state that there were up to 20,000 Cuban troops in Angola to support the government (AP 7 Jan. 1982; UPI 5 Jan. 1982; The Washington Post 13 Sept. 1982). By the end of 1982, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that an additional 10,000 Cuban troops had been sent to Angola, increasing the total number of troops to 30,000 soldiers (AP 9 Dec. 1982). The Cuban presence in Angola goes back to 1975 when the country's "post-colonial Marxist government" began receiving "military threats" from South Africa (ibid.).

The Cuban Armed Forces Review (CAFR) Website states that Ramon Espinosa Martin was the military chief in charge of the Angolan military mission in 1980 (2000). The CAFR Website also published an Associated Press (AP) report indicating that General Raul Menendez Tomassevich was "an important commander" of the Cuban forces in Angola in the early 1980s (17 Aug. 2001). Names of other high-level military officials and information on the leadership structure of the Cuban military in Angola could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

With regards to the range of activities of the Cuban troops in Angola, UPI states that some 2,500 troops were assisting the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), in southern Angola, as it warred against South Africa to obtain independence for the contested territory of South West Africa (17 Mar. 1982) in Namibia (AP 9 Dec. 1982). The South African government, which, at the time, was heavily backed by US support, stated that it would not grant independence to Namibia if Cuban troops remained in Angola; the Angolan government, on the other hand, stated that it would not order the Cuban forces to leave until South Africa stopped its military incursions on Angolan soil (AP 9 Dec. 1982; The Washington Post 13 Sept. 1982). The Cuban troops were also assisting the Angolan government in its internal war against UNITA, the country's rebel movement (ibid.; BBC 29 July 1982).

By 1984, there were over 16,000 Cuban troops and 4,000 advisors in Angola (Sullivan 6 Apr. 1984). Cuba also supplied "medical personnel, teachers, and industrial technicians who [were] effectively in command of the day-to-day operations and key functioning of the country" (ibid.). The Country Study and Guide states that the Cuban military supplied mostly technical, combat and training advisory support in Angola (Feb. 1989). It also contributed, to a lesser extent, to ground and air combat operations, and, under the coordination of the Soviet Union, assisted in establishing Angola's state security and intelligence apparatus (Country Study and Guide Feb. 1989). Please consult the electronic attachment taken from the Country Study and Guide for additional information on Cuba's range of activities in Angola, including whether Cuban troops engaged in combat roles.

Information stating specifically whether the Cuban military used chemical or biological weapons in Angola from 1980 to 1982 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, several sources state generally that Cuba used such weapons in Angola in the 1980s (Business Day 28 July 1998; Contacto Magazine 17 Oct. 2001; Diario Las Américas 13 July 1999; Evans and Novak Jan. 1988; The Washington Times 19 May 2002).

Rowland Evans and Robert Novak stated in a January 1988 syndicated column that Cuba was using "poison gas" against the US-supported rebels of Jonas Savimbi, who had reported that 120 guerrilla fighters had died and 300 others had been paralyzed as a result of being exposed to "gas attacks." In correspondence with a US Democratic senator in May 1987, Aubin Heyndrickx, a Belgian criminal toxicologist, professor and senior UN consultant on chemical weapons, stated that "'[t]here is no doubt anymore that the Cubans were using nerve gases against the troops of Mr. Jonas Savimbi'" (Evans and Novak Jan. 1988). Poison gas residue of Soviet origin was found, for example, on Cuban prisoners of war who had lost a battle at Cuito Cuanavale (ibid.). The UN Security Council recognized that the Cuban Air Force had used chemical weapons, such as gases VX and sarin, in 1988 during the war in Angola after Belgian toxicologists found evidence to that effect (Diario Las Américas 13 July 1999).

In testimony provided to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1998, Wouter Basson, former director of South Africa's chemical weapons programme in the 1980s, stated that his country "was forced to develop chemical weapons after Cuban forces used chemical agents against SA troops fighting in Angola" (Business Day 28 July 1998; The Washington Times 19 May 2002). In a 1998 book by Ken Alibek, a former employee in the Soviet Union's biological weapons programme, it was alleged that "Cuba had begun developing an extensive biotechnology program with Soviet aid in 1981, and that a decade later Soviet officials were seeing 'irrefutable signs of biowarfare production' in Cuba" (ibid.). NBC stated in October 2001 that Cuban soldiers used a [translation] "deadly biological weapon called 'yellow rain' (lluvia amarilla) to kill rebels opposed to the Marxist government supported by Castro" (Contacto Magazine 17 Oct. 2001).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Associated Press (AP). 17 August 2001. "Cuban General Tomassevich Dies." (Cuban Armed Forces Review 2001) http://cubapolidata.com/cafr/news/2001.html [Accessed 1 Apr. 2003]

_____. 9 December 1982. George Gedda. "Cuba Said to Increase Troop Strength in Angola." (NEXIS)

_____. 7 January 1982. "South Africans Attack Cuban Base Inside Angola." (NEXIS)

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 29 July 1982. "UNITA Leader's Claims of Cuban-Led Offensive in Angola." (NEXIS)

Business Day. 28 July 1998. "Chemical Warfare Chief Must Testify, Court Rules." (NEXIS)

Contacto Magazine [Burbank, CA]. 17 October 2001. "La NBC dice que Cuba puede fabricar armas químicas." (CubaNet 18 Oct. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y01/oct01/18o4.htm [Accessed 3 Apr. 2003]

Country Study and Guide. February 1989. "Angola." http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/angola/angola172.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2003]

Cuban Armed Forces Review. 2000. " Biographies of Cuban Military Commanders." http://cubapolidata.com/cafr/cafr_espinosa.html [Accessed 1 Apr. 2003]

Diario Las Américas [Miami]. 13 July 1999. Ariel Remos. "Las armas bacteriológicas colocan a Castro en el Bioterrorismo." (CubaNet 14 July 1999) http://64.21.33.164/CNews/y99/jul99/ 14o9.htm [Accessed 7 Apr. 2003]

Evans, Rowland and Robert Novak. January 1988. "Cuban Troops in Angola Said to Use Poison Gas." http://www.fortfreedom.org/y19.htm [Accessed 3 Apr. 2003]

Sullivan, T.P. 6 April 1984. "Cuban Foreign Policy: Joint Objectives in Angola." http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/STP.htm [Accessed 2 Apr. 2003]

United Press International (UPI). 17 March 1982. David Cowell. "Army Says SWAPO Guerrillas Were Raw Recruits." (NEXIS)

_____. 5 January 1982. "South Africans Capture Cuban Soldier, Kill Another." (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 13 September 1982. Richard M. Weintraub. "Reagan Seeks Removal of Cubans in Angola." (NEXIS)

The Washington Times. 19 May 2002. David R. Sands and Tom Carter. "From Cuba, With Unease." http://www.washtimes.com/world/20020519-74522872.htm [Accessed 3 Apr. 2003]

IRB Databases

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

Canadian Foundation on the Americas (FOCAL)

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

The Cuban-American Military Council

Cuba Free Press

Federation of American Scientists (FAS)

Human Rights Watch

The Miami Herald. Search engine

Nueva Prensa Cubana

El Nuevo Herald. Search engine

United Nations

Search engines:

Alltheweb.com
Google

Country Study and Guide. February 1989. "Angola." http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/angola/angola172.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2003]