‘Africanos’ versus ‘Africanitos’ the Soviet-Czechoslovak Competition to Protect the Cuban Revolution

Abstract

The Cuban Revolution fundamentally changed the approach taken by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries toward Latin America. When Fidel Castro took power, the Communist countries began to open embassies in Cuba and develop mutual relations. Along with the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia quickly normalized relations with the new regime and became one of the most active Eastern Bloc countries diplomatically, economically, and in the intelligence field. The Czechoslovak State Security Service (StB) took a leading role in building Cuban intelligence and strengthening the Castro regime. For more than a year, the Czechoslovaks pushed hard to build the relationship and provide assistance beyond what the Soviet Union was willing to countenance, which annoyed and frustrated, the Soviet KGB. Following the Bay of Pigs, during which the StB performed poorly, the Soviets began to reduce StB activities in Cuba. Based on recently declassified documents, this article explores Czechoslovakia’s neglected intelligence initiatives in Cuba and assesses them within the context of Eastern Bloc intelligence activities in the Global South during the Cold War.