Editing Foreign relations of Cuba (section)

=====Intervention in Africa=====
{{Main|Cuban intervention in Angola}}

On November 4, 1975, Castro ordered the deployment of Cuban troops to [[Angola]] to aid the Marxist [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola|MPLA]] against [[UNITA]], which were supported by the [[People's Republic of China]], United States, [[Israel]], and South Africa (see: [[Cuba in Angola]]). After two months on their own, Moscow aided the Cuban mission with the USSR engaging in a massive airlift of Cuban forces into Angola. Both Cuban and South African forces withdrew in the late 1980s and Namibia was granted  independence. The [[Angolan civil war]] would last until 2002. [[Nelson Mandela]] is said to have remarked "Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom, and justice."<ref>[[Wikiquote:Nelson Mandela]]</ref> Cuban troops were also sent to Marxist [[Ethiopia]] to assist [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]]'s government in the [[Ogaden War]] with [[Somalia]] in 1977. Cuba sent troops along with the Soviet Union to aid the [[Mozambican Liberation Front|FRELIMO]] government against the [[Rhodesia]]n and South African-backed [[Mozambican National Resistance|RENAMO]].<ref name="Grady2005">{{cite web|last=O'Grady |first=Mary Anastasia |date=2005-10-30 |url=http://www.cubacenter.org/media/news_articles/countingcastrosvictims.php |title=Counting Castro's Victims |publisher=The Wall Street Journal, Center for a Free Cuba |access-date=2006-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418094333/http://www.cubacenter.org/media/news_articles/countingcastrosvictims.php |archive-date=2006-04-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Castro never disclosed the number of casualties in Soviet African wars, but one estimate is that 14,000 Cubans were killed in Cuban military actions abroad.<ref>''Return to Havana'' by Maurice Halperin</ref><ref>{{cite web | date = 2006-08-25 | url = http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1892 | title = Recipient Grants: Center for a Free Cuba | access-date = 2006-08-25 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070828125037/http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1892 | archive-date = 2007-08-28 }}</ref>