“Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to
its knees. The U.S. regime is very
weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up.”
Fidel Castro, during his tour of Iran, Syria and Libya.
Agence France Press, May 10, 2001
CASTRO AND TERRORISM
A CHRONOLOGY
by
Eugene Pons
with
a foreword
by
Jaime Suchlicki
Institute for Cuban &
Cuban-American Studies
Occasional Paper Series
September 2001
OPS
Advisory Board
Luis Aguilar León,
Institute for Cuban &
Cuban-American Studies
Graciella Cruz-Taura,
Florida Atlantic
University
José Manuel Hernández,
Georgetown University
(Emeritus)
Irving Louis Horowitz,
Rutgers University
Antonio Jorge,
Florida International
University
Armando Lago,
Association for the Study
of the Cuban Economy
Lesbia Orta Varona,
University of Miami
Jaime Suchlicki,
Director
Institute for Cuban &
Cuban-American Studies
FOREWORD
Since 1948 when, as a young student, Fidel Castro
participated in the violence that rocked Colombian society and distributed
anti-U.S. propaganda, he has been guided by two objectives: a commitment to
violence and a virulent anti-Americanism.
His struggle since and his forty-two years rule in Cuba have been
characterized primarily by these goals.
In the 1960’s Castro and his brother,
Raul, believed that the political and economic conditions that produced their
revolution existed in Latin America and that anti-American revolutions would
occur throughout the continent. Cuban
agents and diplomats established contact with revolutionary, terrorist and
guerrilla groups in the area and began distributing propaganda, weapons and
aid. Many Latin Americans were brought
to Cuba for training and then returned to their countries.
At the Tricontinental Conference held
in Havana in 1966 and attended by revolutionary leaders from throughout the
world, Castro insisted that bullets not ballots was the way to achieve power
and provided the institutional means to promote his anti-American, violent
line. He insisted that “conditions
exist for an armed revolutionary struggle” and criticized those who opposed
armed struggle, including some Communist leaders in Latin America, as “traitorous,
rightists, and deviationists.”
Castro’s attempts in the 1960’s to
bring revolutionary, anti-American regimes to power failed. His support for guerrillas and terrorist
groups in Guatemala, Venezuela, and Bolivia only produced violence and suffering
to those countries and their people, which repudiated violence as a means to
achieve power. Violence resulted in
military regimes coming to power in several Latin American countries
For the next two decades, the Cuban
leadership, supported by the Soviet Union, modified its tactics. In addition to agents from the America
Department, the subversive arm of Cuba’s Communist Party, Castro used his Armed
Forces to help friendly groups achieve power in Latin America and Africa. In Nicaragua Cuban military personnel,
weapons and intelligence supported and helped bring to power the
Sandinistas. In El Salvador, a bloody
civil war in part fomented and aided by Cuba, ended in a stalemate and a
negotiated peace.
In Africa, Castro achieved his most significant
victories. The Soviet-Cuban backed
Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) faction was installed in power in
Angola and other Cuban supported regimes came to power throughout the
continent. The Cuban military also
trained and supplied the South-West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) and
the African National Congress (ANC), forces fighting the South African regime.
Castro also became involved with
African-Americans in the U.S. and with the Macheteros, a Puerto Rican terrorist
group. Cuba focused particular
attention on the black struggle in the U.S., providing aid and training to the
Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army, as well as a safehaven on the
island for black leaders. Castro
continuously promoted the independence of Puerto Rico and supported the
Macheteros who committed terrorist acts and bank robberies in the United
States. Several still live in Cuba.
Cuban military and intelligence
personnel aided Middle Eastern groups and regimes in their struggle against
Israel, and Cuban troops fought on the side of Arab States, particularly Syria,
during the Yom Kippur war. Castro sent
military instructors and advisors into Palestinian bases; cooperated with Libya
in the founding of World Mathaba, a terrorist movement; and established close
military cooperation and exchanges with Iraq, Libya, Southern Yemen, the
Polisario Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara, the PLO and others in the
Middle East.
Despite the collapse of the Soviet
Union, Castro continues to undermine U.S. policies in the Middle East in
several ways: a) by portraying U.S. actions and diplomacy in the region as
those of an aggressor, seeking to impose hegemony by force, particularly in
Iraq and the perpetration of unjustified economic sanctions on Iraq and Iran;
b) by portraying the U.S. as the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the
Israel/Arab conflict; and c) by discrediting U.S. policies and seeking support
for Cuba at the U.N. These
anti-American views and policies are conveyed as a systematic message through a
network of Cuban embassies and agents, as well as at the U.N. and other
non-governmental political, religious and cultural organizations.
While not abandoning his close
relationships in the Middle East, Castro has recently concentrated his support
on several groups: the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), where Castro, and his new ally Hugo Chavez
of Venezuela, see significant possibilities for success; ETA, the Basque
terrorist/separatist organization from Spain, which has found refuge and
support in Cuba, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which established its
Latin American headquarters in Havana.
American policymakers should pay
careful attention to the intricate web of relationships which emerges so
clearly from this chronology. It
carefully details Castro’s involvement with and support for terrorist regimes
and organizations during the past four decades. Cuba’s geographical location, Castro‘s continuous connections
with these groups and states and the harboring of terrorists in Havana creates
a dynamic that requires vigilance and alertness.
It should be emphasized that in addition to violence
and terrorism, Castro and his regime, have been for more than four decades, the
most vocal and active proponents of anti-Americanism. The often-repeated view in many countries that the United States
is an evil power, guilty for much of the problems and sufferings of the
developing world, is owed in great part to the propaganda efforts of Fidel
Castro.
Jaime Suchlicki
Director
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies
September 2001
Castro and Terrorism
A Chronology
By Eugene Pons*
1959-1967
· Raúl Castro and Che Guevara visited Cairo and established contacts with
African liberation movements stationed in and supported by Cairo. Both Cuban
leaders visited Gaza and expressed support for the Palestinian cause.
· Members of the Dominican
Republic “Agrupación Política Catorce de Junio” received military training in
Cuba.
· Major emphasis was placed on instructing several hundred pro-Castro
Latin Americans in violence and guerrilla warfare. Dominicans, Guatemalans,
Venezuelans and Chileans were trained in special camps in Cuba and infiltrated
back to their countries.
· Castro established relations with the Algerian FLN;
official and public support was extended, weapons were shipped to the FLN
through Morocco (1960-1961). Cuba provided shelter, medical and educational
services and cooperation in the fields
of counter-intelligence and intelligence.
· African leaders from Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mali,
Nigeria, South Africa, Spanish Guinea, Tanganyika and Zanzibar arrived in Cuba
for military training.
· Che Guevara engaged in guerrilla operations in Congo-Kinshasa (former
Zaire) in 1965.
· A revolutionary trained in Cuba, John Okello,
overthrew the pro-Western government in Zanzibar in 1964 and proclaimed the
“People’s Republic of Zanzibar” which was promptly recognized by Cuba and the
Soviet Union.
· Conference of Latin American Communist Parties held in
Havana agreed to “help actively the guerrilla forces in Venezuela, Guatemala,
Paraguay, Colombia, Honduras and Haiti”.
· Group of Venezuelans, members of the Movimiento de la
Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), trained in Cuba and landed in the Venezuela
coast in the State of Miranda.
· Cuban trained Guatemalans Cesar Montes and Luis
Turcios Lima led a violent terrorist/guerrilla campaign against the government
in Guatemala. Montes organized the Ejercito Guerrillero de los Pobres (EGP) in
Guatemala. In the 1980’s he joined the FMLN in El Salvador and participated
actively in the bloody civil war in that country.
· Cuba welcomed the founding of the PLO. First contacts
with Palestinian FATAH in 1965 in Algiers and Damascus.
· The Tricontinental Conference was held in Havana in January, 1966 to
adopt a common political strategy against colonialism, neocolonialism, and
imperialism. Cuba provided the organizational structure to support terrorist,
anti-American groups in the Middle East and Latin America. The Organization for
the Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAL) was
created.
· Fidel Castro created The National Liberation Directorate (DLN) in Cuba
to support revolutionary groups throughout the world. DLN was responsible for
planning and coordinating Cuba’s terrorist training camps in the island, covert
movement of personnel and military supplies from Cuba and a propaganda
apparatus.
· A Cuban controlled Latin American Solidarity Organization (LASO), with
its permanent seat in Havana was created to “coordinate and foment the fight
against North American imperialism”.
· In Venezuela, Castro made a relentless and determined effort to create
another Cuba by supporting the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN)
and promoting violence and terrorism against the democratically elected regime
of Rómulo Betancourt.
· Castro sent weapons via Cairo, to the NLF in Southern
Yemen. Cuban agents were sent on fact-finding missions to North and South Yemen
(1967- 1968).
· Cuba published a small book by French Marxist journalist Regis Debray Revolution
in the Revolution, promoting guerrilla warfare in Latin America. The book
was translated into various languages and distributed widely.
· Cuban supported guerrillas led by Che Guevara moved
into Bolivia in an attempt to create “many Vietnams “ in South America.
· Cuba and Syria developed a close alliance and supported FATAH and the
Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF).
1968-1975
· Cuba continued its military and political support for
FATAH after the Syrians broke with the latter, and Cuban military, political
and intelligence support was granted to other Palestinian organizations.
· Castro sent military instructors and advisors into
Palestinian bases in Jordan to train Palestinian Fedayeen (1968); first
high-level delegation from FATAH-PLO visited Cuba (1970).
· Several missions sent to Southern Yemen to support
NLF/FATAH Ismail both politically and militarily.
· Castro began supporting and training of M19, a
Colombian guerrilla group that captured the Dominican Embassy and the Justice
building in Bogota and assassinated several prominent Colombian judges.
· In 1970 a “Mini Manual for Revolutionaries” was published in the
official LASO publication Tricontinental, written by Brazilian urban
terrorist leader Carlos Marighella. The mini manual gives precise instruction
in terror tactics, kidnappings, etc. The short book was translated into
numerous languages and distributed worldwide by Cuba.
· Cuba commenced political and military cooperation with Somalia's Siad
Barre (1969).
· Economic and political cooperation began with Libya in
1974.
· In 1974 the National Liberation Directorate (DLN) was reorganized into
the America Department (DA) under the Communist Party of Cuba Central
Committee. The DA centralized control over Cuban activities for supporting
national liberation movements. The DA was responsible for planning and
coordinating Cuba’s secret guerrilla and terrorist training camps, networks for
the covert movement of personnel and material from Cuba, and a propaganda
apparatus. DA agents also operated in Europe and other regions. Trusted Castro
ally Manuel Piñeiro, “ Barbaroja” was placed in charge.
· Cuba provided training and support to the Tupamaros, a terrorist group
operating in Uruguay.
· Cuba’s America Department (DA) set up a network for
the funneling of weapons and supplies to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.
· In 1979 second in command in Cuba’s America Department (DA) Armando
Ulises Estrada, helped unify Sandinista factions fighting Somoza.
· Closer connections with FATAH-PLO and other
Palestinian organizations were reinforced, including training of Latin American
guerrillas in Lebanon; Cuba’s military support included counter-intelligence
and intelligence training.
· Arafat visited Cuba in 1974.
· Cuba provided military support and personnel to Syria during the Yom
Kippur War (1973-1975).
· Black Panther Party members from the U.S. were trained in Canada by
Cuban personnel. Black Panther leaders and other U.S. blacks also received
weapons and explosives training in Havana.
· Cuba joined with Algeria and Libya on a diplomatic/political offensive
in support of Frente POLISARIO (People's Front for the Liberation of Western
Sahara and Río del Oro); later on provided military cooperation, and medical
services.
1976-1982
· The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated
that there were 300 Palestinians training in Cuban camps.
· Cuba supported the so-called "Steadfastness Front" against
the U.S. backed Camp David accord.
· Illich Rámirez Sánchez, known as “Carlos, the Jackal”, responsible for
numerous terrorist acts in Europe, trained in Cuba. He attended the 1966
Tricontinental Conference in Havana and later trained in urban guerrilla
tactics, automatic weapons, explosives and sabotage in Cuba.
· Abu Iyad, a close aid to Yasser Arafat, stated in 1978 that hundreds of
Palestinian had been sent to Cuban terrorist camps.
· Additional military and political support provided to
the Palestinian cause; Arafat attended the Sixth Non-Aligned Conference in
Havana (1979).
· During Havana visit, Arafat signed agreement for
military cooperation and arms supply.
· Significant hard currency loans (tens of million) were
facilitated by Arafat-PLO to the Cuban government under very soft terms; Cuba
granted diplomatic and political support to Arafat during the 1982 Israeli
invasion of Lebanon.
· The Aden (South Yemen) regime supported the Ethiopian radical officers
commanded by Mengistu Haile Mariam, sending Yemeni military units in support of
the latter against Somali aggression, and asking the Cubans to do the same.
Cuba joined in, first with a group of officers headed by General Arnaldo Ochoa,
a move that was followed later on by the deployment of large Cuban forces
against the Somali invasion. Also as part of the alliance with the Aden regime,
Cuba granted some small-scale support to the Dhofaris in their armed struggle
against the monarchy in Oman.
· The Cuban trained Congolese National Liberation Front invaded Shala,
Zaire.
· As part of Cuba's alliance with Mengistu Haile Mariam's regime in
Ethiopia, the Cuban leadership decided to engage in active political and
military support of the Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan headed by John
Garang against the Arab-Muslim regime in Khartoum.
· Cuba developed closer ties with and sent military advisors to Iraq.
· Cuba’s America Department (DA) operated a weapons
pipeline to the Farabundo Martí National Front (FMLN) a terrorist group
attempting to gain power in El Salvador.
· Cuba cooperated with Libya in the political founding of the World
MATHABA in Tripoli, to provide political support and coordinate revolutionary
violence throughout the world. Cuba supported Libya’s stand on Chad and the
FRENTE POLISARIO.
· Cuban trained terrorists members of the Guatemalan EGP
kidnapped a businessman in Guatemala. Several were arrested in Mexico when
attempting to collect ransom.
· Despite its close links with Baghdad, Cuba recognized
and praised the Iranian Revolution. Once Iraq attacked Iran, Castro withdrew
his military advisors from Baghdad and adopted a position of official
impartiality, though more sympathetic to Baghdad, due to his past relations.
1983-1990
· Argentine born Cuban intelligence agent Jorge Massetti
helped funnel Cuban funds to finance Puerto Rican terrorists belonging to the
Machetero group. The Macheteros highjacked a Wells Fargo truck in Connecticut
in September 1983 and stole $7.2 million.
· Cuba’s America Department (DA) provided, thru Jorge
Massetti, weapons and several thousand dollars to the Chilean MIR.
· Libyan support to Latin American revolutionary
movements, especially in Central America and the whole of the World MATHABA
project, declined after the U.S.bombing of Tripoli in 1986.
· Cuban agents in Mexico engaged in bank robberies to
finance several terrorist groups from Latin America operating out of Mexico.
· The Palestinian Intifada increased Cuba’s support for Arafat and
the PLO, both diplomatic and military.
· Several dozen Mexicans received training in terrorism
and guerrilla warfare in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio Province and in
Guanabo, in eastern Cuba.
· After the negotiations leading to the establishment of the Palestinian
National Authority, Cuban-Palestinian military cooperation was enhanced,
including the areas of counter-intelligence and intelligence.
· In early 1989, Cuban General Patricio de la Guardia directed a plot in
Havana and charged Jorge Massetti with blowing up the U.S. transmission balloon
of TV Martí located in the Florida Keys.
· Cuba condemned Iraq for its invasion and annexation of Kuwait,
supporting the latter's sovereignty; it also condemned U.S. military operations
in the Gulf and abstained at the U.N. from supporting the bulk of the sanctions
imposed on Baghdad. A Cuban military delegation was sent to Iraq to learn and
share what was considered vital information and experiences from U.S. combat
operations in Kuwait and Iraq.
· Cuba provided advanced weapons and demolition training to the Tupac
Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in Perú. The Tupac Amaru attacked the U.S.
Embassy in 1984; bombed the Texaco offices in 1985 and attacked the residence
of the U.S. Ambassador in 1985 all in Lima, Perú.
1991-2001
· ETA, a Spanish terrorist organization seeking a
separate Basque homeland, established the Cuartel General (General
Headquarters) in Havana.
· A high-level PLO military delegation including the
head of Intelligence paid a visit to Cuba.
· On February 24, 1996, Cuban Air Force Migs shot down,
in international waters, two small unarmed civilian planes belonging to
Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami based group. All occupants were killed,
including three American citizens.
· The election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika (April 1999) as
President of Algeria, opened new opportunities for Cuba, given Bouteflika's
close relationship with the Cuban government for more than three decades.
· PLO leaders continue to have close relations with the
Cuban leadership, having access to specialized military and intelligence
training, either in Cuba or Palestinian territory, and in the sharing of
intelligence.
· A spokesman for the Basque government in Spain met in
Havana with two high level ETA terrorist taking refuge in Cuba, José Angel
Urtiaga Martinez and Jesús Lucio Abrisqueta Corte.
· Cuba continued to provide safe haven to several terrorists fugitives from the
U.S. They include: Black Liberation Army leader Joanne Chesimard aka Assata
Shakur, one of New Jersey’s most wanted fugitives for killing a New Jersey
State trooper in 1973 and Charlie Hill a member of the Republic of New Afrika
Movement wanted for the hijacking of TWA 727 and the murder of a New Mexico
State trooper
· A number of Basque ETA terrorists
who gained sanctuary in Cuba some years ago continued to live on the island, as
did several Puerto Ricans members of the Machetero Group.
· Castro refused to join the other
Ibero-American heads of state in condemning ETA terrorism at the 2000
Ibero-American Summit in Panamá and slammed Mexico for its support of the
Summit’s statement against terrorism.
· Castro continues to maintain ties to several state sponsors of terrorism
in Latin America. Colombia's two largest terrorist organizations, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army
(ELN), both maintain a permanent presence on the island.
· Colombian officials arrested IRA members Niall
Connelly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan and accused then of training the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Connelly had been living in Cuba
as the representative of the IRA for Latin America.
· Former Defense Department counter-terrorism expert
John More told UPI that Cubans, militant Palestinians, Hezbollah and even
advisors from the leftist government of Venezuela are all active in Colombia.
· During the trial of several Cuban spies in Miami, one
of the accused Alejandro Alonso revealed on December 30, 2000 that he was
instructed from Havana to locate areas in South Florida “where we can move
persons as well as things, including arms and explosives.”
· Speaking at Tehran University in Iran on May 10, 2001
Fidel Castro vowed that “the imperialist king will finally fall”.
*Eugene Pons is the
Coordinator of Cuba’s Information System at the Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami.
BPP - Black Panther Party -
Founded in the United States in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It
adopted Marxist-Leninist principles along with urban guerrilla warfare, and a
structure similar to the American Communist party.
DGI - Directório General de
Inteligencia - The Cuban Department in charge of collecting intelligence and
carrying out covert operations outside Cuba.
DA - America Department -
Centralized control over Cuban activities for supporting national liberation
movements, responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba’s secret guerrilla
and terrorist camps, and propaganda apparatus.
DLN - National Liberation
Directorate - Organization created in Cuba to support revolutionary groups
throughout the world. Responsible for planning and coordinating Cuba’s
terrorist training camps in the island, covert movement of personnel and
military supplies from Cuba, and propaganda apparatus.
EGP - Ejercito Guerrillero de
los Pobres - A political-military Marxist-Leninist organization that followed
Cuba and Vietnam as revolutionary models. This Guatemalan insurgent
organization was trained in Cuba and was very active during the 1970s, seeking
to depose the political and military structure of the country.
ELF - Eritrean Liberation
Front - The most influential Eritrean organization fighting for secession from
Ethiopia in the 1960s, actively supported by the Cuban and Syrian regime since
1965. Various internal divisions developed later on until the late 1970s, when
a new front was built based on very different domestic and external alliances
and, eventually led the Eritreans to victory. Cuba's support to Mengistu Haile
Mariam's regime in 1978 meant the cessation of previous Cuban backing to the
Eritrean cause.
ELN - National Liberation
Army - Organized by the Castro regime, this Colombian Marxist insurgent group
was founded in 1965. Its main terrorist activities includes kidnappings and
extortion targeting foreign employees of large corporations.
ETA - Basque Separatist Movement - This organization was founded by militants
and leftist students from the University of Madrid in 1962. They formed
guerilla units that commit violent terrorist acts claiming that they are
fighting for freedom of the Basque Region, in Spain. This group has close
relations with the IRA. The two groups have offices in Havana and their members
have found safe haven in Cuba.
FALN - Fuerzas Armadas de
Liberación Nacional - A Venezuelan
guerrilla organization trained by Cuba in violence and terrorism.
FARC - Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia - Established in 1964, the FARC is the oldest and
best-equipped Marxist insurgency in Colombia. It is a well-organized terrorist
group that controls several rural and urban areas. It has received financial
and military aid from Cuba and many of its members were trained in Havana.
FATAH - Palestine National
Liberation Movement - Founded in 1959 by younger generations of Palestinians
that had experienced the defeats of 1948 and 1956. The FATAH are strongly
committed to a radical nationalist platform to fight for Palestine and against
Arab intervention and manipulations of the Palestinian problem. Mostly an
underground organization until the June War in 1967 when it transformed itself
into the most powerful and influential party inside Palestinian and Arab
politics.
FLN - Front de Libération
National - The political and military organization that led the war of national
liberation against French colonial rule between 1954 and 1962. Ruling political
party until the 1980s in Algeria.
FMLN - Farabundo Martí
National Front - Formed in 1970, the FMLN is a terrorist Marxist-Leninist
organization intent on establishing a communist revolutionary regime in El
Salvador. The FMLN was extremely active in its terrorist campaign, receiving
assistance from Nicaragua and Cuba.
FSLN - Frente Sandinista de
Liberación Nacional - This organization was founded in Havana in 1961 when
Carlos Fonseca-Amador’s Nicaraguan Patriotic Youth organization merged with
Tomas Borge’s Cuban-supported insurgent group. The group adopted
Marxist-Leninist ideology and gained support from the Castro government,
employing low-level guerrilla warfare and urban terrorism tactics to overthrow
the Somoza dictatorship.
IRA - Irish Republican Army -
The IRA is the most dangerous terrorist organization
of Northern Ireland dating back to the early 1920s. Although, it wasn’t
until the 1970’s when the IRA began terrorist actions
and resurrected the historical conflicts. The IRA targets political
transformation for United Ireland by eliminating Britain from Northern Ireland
and replacing the government of Northern Ireland with a socialist government.
Its Latin American headquarters are in Havana.
LASO - Latin American
Solidarity Organization - A Cuban controlled organization founded during the
1966 Tri-Continental Conference in Havana to “coordinate and foment the fight
against North American imperialism.”
M-19 - Movimiento 19 de Abril
- A Castro supported group formed in 1974 to disrupt Colombia’s government
through acts of terrorism and violence. The M-19 was very active throughout the
1980s receiving assistance and training from the Montoneros and Tupamaros
groups and the Cuban government, causing Colombia to temporarily sever
diplomatic relations with Cuba.
M-6-14 - Agrupación Politica
Catorce de Junio - Dominican guerrilla organization trained in Cuba.
MACHETEROS - This terrorist
organization is composed of four Puerto Rican groups: 1) the Macheteros, 2) the
Ejercito Popular Borícua (EPB), 3) the Movimiento Popular Revolucionario, and
4) the Partido Revolucionario de Trabajadores Puertorriqueños. Most of the Macheteros have been trained in
Cuba, were they have established relations with other terrorist groups. They
are responsible for several terrorist acts within the United States and
throughout Puerto Rico.
MIR - Movimiento de la
Izquierda Revolucionaria - A Chilean insurgent organization founded in 1965 and
supported by Castro. The MIR was very active in the mid-1970s when they
promoted violence and occupied several rural areas in Chile. The group
encountered several set backs during the 1980s that essentially ended their
activity.
MONTONEROS - An Argentinean
guerilla organization that was formed in 1968 as a Peronist urban
anti-government group. It adopted a Marxist ideology in the mid-1970s after it
united with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Argentina. In 1977, many of
its members were exiled and its numbers reduced to less than 300.
MRTA - Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement - Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organization formed in
1983 and supported by the Castro regime. The MRTA’s intent was to establish a
Marxist regime in Peru through terrorism, although Peru’s counter terrorism
program diminished the groups’ ability to effectively carry out terrorist
attacks.
NLF - National Front for the
Liberation of South Yemen - Created in 1962 in the course of the revolution in
North Yemen against the monarchy and supported by Nasser, the NLF is another
important and successful branch of the Arab Nationalist Movement. Since 1965 it
has had very close relations with Cuba. In 1966-1967, it broke with Nasser and
finally forced the British to negotiate and evacuate Aden.
OSPAAL - Organization for the
Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America - Founded in 1966
in Cuba at the Tri-Continental Conference, this organization aims to support
the struggle of the people of Africa, Asia and Latin America against
imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism.
PLO - Palestine Liberation
Organization - This organization was founded in Cairo in 1964 under the
auspices of Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic) to serve Nasser's
manipulations of the Palestinian cause. The group was composed mostly of
conservative Palestinian intellectuals and bureaucrats serving Arab
governments. The PLO was an instrument of Nasser's foreign policy until the
June War of 1967, when the old PLO leadership collapsed to be replaced by
FATEH's leadership headed by Arafat.
POLISARIO - People’s Front for
the Liberation of Western Sahara and Río del Oro - The Frente POLISARIO was inspired by the ANM tradition and the
Algerian FLN and was created to fight against the Spanish-Morrocan-Mauritinian
arrangements to split the former colony of Saguía el Hamra/Río del Oro (known
as Western Sahara) between the two African states. This group enjoyed active
support from Algeria and Libya and Cuba.
POPULAR FRONT FOR THE
LIBERATION OF PALESTINES - The most important branch of the Arab Nationalist
Movement (ANM), created in the 1950s as radical followers of Nasser. After the
June War of 1967, the group disassociated itself from Nasser and focused on
building a more radical alternative within the Palestinians under the name of
Popular Front. The group has strong alliances within Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen,
and the Gulf, and was heavily engaged in terrorist activities during the 1970s.
TRICONTINENTAL - Cuban
publication disseminated by the Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples
of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAL) in four languages: Spanish, English,
French, and Italian / promoting the Castro line of armed struggle.
TUPAMAROS or MNL - Movimiento
Nacional de Liberación Tupamaros - This
Uruguay insurgent group was organized in the early 1960s by law student Raul
Sendic. The Tupamaros were one of the first terrorist groups to use guerrilla
warfare in urban areas and established independent terrorist cells throughout
the country.
WORLD MATHABA - A Libyan project from the late 1970s to promote political,
financial, and military support for revolutionary movements throughout the
world. Ghaddafi called on other "revolutionary governments" to
support this project, which Cuba did.
MATHABA was essentially a tool in the hands of the Libyans to project
their individual goals and agenda. Financial and military assistance was never
a collective decision, but responded for the most part to bilateral
arrangements between Ghaddafi's regime and individual organizations, some of
which resorted, at different stages, to terrorist methods like the IRA and ETA.
Insurgencies in Central America, like the Sandinistas and others, were
privileged beneficiaries along with the African National Congress, Frente
POLISARIO, and others.
Alarcón Ramírez, Dariel, «Benigno», Memorias de un
Soldado Cubano: Vida y muerte de la Revolución. Barcelona: TusQuets
Editores, S.A. 1996.
Amuchastegui,
Domingo, Cuba in the Middle East: A Brief Chronology. Coral Gables:
Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, 1999.
CubaNet News, “Fidel Castro: comandante en jefe de ETA”. December 1999.
Cuba
On-Line: An Online Database of Information. http://cuba.sis.miami.edu/, Coral
Gables: Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami,
2001.
Geyer,
Georgia Anne, Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro.
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David J., Castro, Israel & The PLO. Miami: The Cuban-American
National Foundation, 1984.
Kozak,
Michael G., Cuba: A Threat to Peace and Security in Our Hemisphere.
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Sr., Jay, History of the Cuban Armed Forces: From Colony to Castro.
Virginia: Ancient Mariners Press, 2000.
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Jorge, El Furor y el Delirio: Itinerario de un hijo de la Revolución cubana.
Barcelona: TusQuets Editores, S.A. 1999.
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Yuri, Soviet-Cuban Alliance (1959-1991). New Brunswick: Transaction
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Ruth, The Rise and Decline of an Alliance: Cuba and African leaders in the
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Enrique, Castro y las Guerrillas en Latinoamerica. Miami: Distribuidora
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Tami, “N.J. Governor Blasts Chesimard Letter.” APBnews.com;
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American
Studies
The Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) is part
of the School of International Studies at the University of Miami. ICCAS serves as an academic center for the
research and study of Cuban, Cuban-American and U.S.-Cuban topics. It helps determine and direct the research agenda
in Cuban Studies at the University of Miami and in the broader world of
scholarship through academic programs, publications, and the sponsoring of
original research on specific topics.
ICCAS offers courses on Cuban history and culture and acquires or
encourages the acquisition of relevant books, documents, collections, and other
materials for the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami Otto G.
Richter Library. It also serves as an
educational link between the university, the exile community, and the South
Florida community at-large. For
information please call (305) 284-CUBA (2822); Fax (305) 284-4875; Email to iccas.sis@miami.edu <mailto:iccas.sis@miami.edu>
Address -
Institute for Cuban &
Cuban-American Studies
School of International Studies
P.O. Box 248174
Coral Gables, FL 33124-3010
The Institute
publishes between 6-12 works per year as part of its Occasional Paper
Series. A broad range of topics is
covered by the series, from the social sciences to the humanities to more
policy-oriented works on current events.
An annual subscription is $50.
Back issues are available for $10 per copy.
·
Irving Louis Horowitz, “Political Pilgrimage to Cuba,
1959-1995.” (August 1996).
·
Joaquín Roy, “España, la Uniόn Europea y Cuba: la evoluciόn
de una relaciόn especial a una política de gestos y de presiόn.” (September 1996).
·
Antonio Jorge, “Methodology, Ideology, and the Economy: The Dismal State of Cuban Studies.” (October 1996).
·
Enrique A. Baloyra, “Twelve Monkeys: Cuban National Defense and the
Military.” (November 1996)
·
José Manuel Hernández, “Félix Varela: El primer cubano.” (December 1996).
·
Double Issue: “Facing the
Future: Two views on Cuba’s Inevitable Transition.” Includes Edward González, “Cuba’s Dismal Post-Castro Futures” and
Alberto Coll, “The Future of U.S.-Cuba Relations.” (February 1996).
·
Gert Oostindie, “A Loss of Purpose: Crisis and Transition in
Cuba.” (March 1997).
·
Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello and Arnaldo Lauzurique, “Documentos del
Instituto Cubano de Economistas Independientes.” (April 1997).
·
Jaime Suchlicki, “Cuba: A Current Assessment.” (May 1997).
·
Graciella Cruz-Taura, “De Patria Soñada a Nación Funesta: Cuba en la
Obra de José Antonio Saco.” (June
1997).
·
Emilio T. González, “The Cuban Connection: Drug Trafficking and the
Castro Regine.” (July 1997).
·
Gustavo Pérez-Firmat, “A Willingness of the Heart: Cubanidad,
Cubaneo, Cubanía.”
(September
1997).
·
Jorge Duany, “From the Cuban ajiaco to the Cuban-American
Hyphen: Changing Discourses of National Identity on the island and in the
Diaspora.” (October 1997).
·
Ricardo Pau-Llosa, “The Tasks of Exile.” (November 1997).
·
Ileana Fuentes, “De Patria a Matria.” (December 1997).
·
Holly Ackerman, “Five Meanings of Cuba’s Political Prisoners.” (February 1998).
·
Juan del Aguila, “Exiles or Immigrants? The Politics of National
Identity.” (March 1998).
·
José Manuel Hernández, “The Politics of Wishful Thinking: Nineteenth
Century Precedents of the Bay of Pigs.”
(April 1998).
·
George Lambie, “Cuban-European Relations: Historical Perspectives and
Political Consequences.” (May 1998).
·
Charlotte Cosner,“Vegueros and Tabaqueros: Rebellion, Revolution, and
‘The Devil’s Plant’: Challenges to State Control in Colonial Cuba.” (June 1998).
·
Maria Werlau, “Impressions on the Visit of Pope John Paul II to
Cuba.” (September 1998).
·
Juan Clark, “The Pope’s Visit to Cuba and its Aftermath.” (June
1999).
·
Domingo Amuchastegui, “Cuba in the Middle East: A Brief Chronology.”
(July 1999).
·
Antonio Jorge, “The U.S. Embargo and the Failure of the Cuban
Economy.” (February 2000).
·
Efren Cordova and Eduardo Garcia Moure, “Modern Slavery: Labor
Conditions in Cuba.” (April 2000).
·
Efren Cordova and Eduardo Garcia Moure, “La situacion de los trabajadores
en Cuba.” (April 2000).
·
Jaime Suchlicki, “The U.S. Embargo of Cuba.” (June 2000).
·
Sara M. Sanchez, “Afro-Cuban Diasporan Religions: A Comparative
Analysis of the Literature and Selected Annotated Bibliography.” (August 2000).
·
Irving Louis Horowitz, “Searching for the Soul of American Foreign
Policy: The Cuban Embargo and the National Interest.” (September 2000).
·
Dr. Moises Asís, “Judaism in Cuba: 1959-1999.” (December 2000).
·
Enrico Mario Santi, “Fresa y Chocolate: The Rhetoric of Cuban
Reconciliation.” (May 2001).