Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–6, Documents on Africa, 1973–1976

37. Memorandum From the Director of Central Intelligence (Bush) to President Ford¹ ²

Washington, April 9, 1976

SUBJECT :

• The Cuban Presence in Africa

1. On 6 April I briefed the House Republican Conference on Cuban involvement in Africa. I was struck by the extent to which the Cubans have extended their presence in Africa during the past few years. The magnitude of this presence is shown in the attached graphic.

2. In 1970 Havana had diplomatic relations with only seven African governments; today, it has relations with 30 governments. Cuban activity in Africa is most pronounced, of course, in Angola where we estimate there are 13,000 to 15,000 Cubans. In addition, there are now upwards of 2,000 Cuban advisors and technicians—military and civilian—in other African countries. These countries, and our estimates of the number of Cubans in each, are also shown in the attached graphic. A more detailed description of what the Cubans are doing is presented in the attached table.

George Bush

1. Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for Africa, Box 1, Africa-General (3). Secret. A notation of the memorandum reads: “The President has seen,” and Ford initialed the document. The map attachment indicating the location and number of Cuban advisors and troops in Africa and the attachment detailing the Cubans’ actions are not published.
2. Bush informed the President of the growing Cuban presence in Africa.