Cuba Marks 40th Anniversary of Operation Carlota Mission

The ceremony was presided over by First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Cuba Parliament President Esteban Lazo, and other members of the Politburo.

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 Rebel Slave Museum, the ceremony was presided over by the First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Esteban Lazo, president of the Cuban Parliament, and other 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.”