Havana, Cuba.- With a political and cultural tribute, Cuba and Angola commemorated in Havana the 50th anniversary of the independence of the African nation and the reestablishment of their diplomatic relations, which are marked by fraternity, solidarity, and shared sacrifice.

At the beginning of the event, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez conveyed greetings and a hug from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, to the members of the diplomatic corps accredited in the island.

Attending the ceremony was the Angolan Ambassador Carlos Cruz de Lemos Sardinha, who thanked Cuba, referring to the country as a “second home” for many compatriots who studied in Cuban schools, and acknowledged its exemplary solidarity with other nations.

The diplomat also emphasized the development achieved by his country after independence and how the sacrifice of the Cuban people was not in vain.

On his end, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and FAR, recalled pivotal moments of Operation Carlota, through which the Cuban internationalists contributed not only to preserving Angola’s independence against imperialist aggression, but also to undermining the foundations of Apartheid, achieving Namibia’s independence, and paving the way for the emancipation of other Southern African nations.

In a post on X, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed that the political and cultural tribute evoked the historical brotherhood between the two nations, the legacy of Cuban internationalists who upheld revolutionary principles, and the sacrifice of Cuban men and women and members of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) who fell in combat.