Somalia and Cuba

How do Somalia and Cuba relate today?

Present-day contacts between the two governments are not documented in the sources found for this page. The record covers the 1970s, when the two were close, and the break of November 1977 (Wikipedia, Ogaden War).

When did contact begin?

Somalia and Cuba established diplomatic relations on 19 July 1972, according to a Cuban foreign-policy chronology cited by Wikipedia (Wikipedia, Foreign relations of Somalia).

Trade came earlier. After the October 1969 coup, the United States ended its aid programme to Somalia because ships under the Somali flag were trading with North Vietnam and Cuba, which US law barred (US State Department study, 6 July 1973, FRUS 1969–1976, vol. E-6, doc. 91). In June 1973 Somalia's ambassador in Washington, Abdullahi Addou, said the "Vietnam and Cuban issues" might be solved so that US aid could resume (Memorandum of conversation, 11 June 1973, FRUS doc. 90).

What did Cuba do in Somalia in the 1970s?

• Guerrilla training, 1973: a Cuban delegation visited Somalia in mid-April 1973 and agreed to send paramilitary advisers for the final phase of guerrilla training in Somali camps (FRUS doc. 91). Nearly 1,600 trainees were being gathered at one site to await them (FRUS doc. 91).
• Development help, 1975: the US embassy in Mogadishu reported that Cubans, East Germans, North Koreans, Czechs and Bulgarians were helping the Soviet Union carry Somalia's "socialist transformation" (US Embassy telegram, 3 September 1975, FRUS doc. 145).
• Security services, 1976: the embassy wrote that Soviets, Cubans and East Germans helped organise the security police and militia (US Embassy airgram, 25 November 1976, FRUS doc. 168).
• Ogaden operations, early 1977: a White House memo noted that some Cubans in Somalia were "helping the Somalis mount guerrilla operations into Ethiopia" (Brzezinski memo to Vice President Mondale, 1977, FRUS 1977–1980, vol. XVII, doc. 7).

Cuban scholarships for Somali students in this period are not documented in the sources found.

What changed in 1977?

In early 1977 Fidel Castro tried to bring Ethiopia's and Somalia's leaders together (FRUS 1977–1980, doc. 7). The US record says the effort "seems to have failed" and that Castro found the Somali side "more irredentist than socialist" (FRUS doc. 7).

By August 1977 Somali forces and insurgents held about two-thirds of the Ogaden, and Cuba backed Ethiopia (US record, 3 August 1977, FRUS doc. 25). By November 1977 Western governments counted about 400 Cuban military advisers in Ethiopia (Vance memo to Carter, 12 November 1977, FRUS doc. 34). On 13 November 1977 Somalia ended its treaty with the Soviet Union and ordered Soviet advisers out (FRUS doc. 45, note). On the same day it broke diplomatic relations with Cuba (Wikipedia, Ogaden War).

By 23 February 1978 nearly 10,000 Cubans were in Ethiopia, with a mechanised infantry brigade in action and about 40 Cuban pilots (US National Security Council minutes, FRUS doc. 62). Raúl Castro told the Soviet leadership that Cuban forces would not enter Somali territory, as reported by Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin on 14 February 1978 (FRUS doc. 56).

Who built and broke the tie?

• Siad Barre, President of Somalia, led the government that took Cuban help and later broke with Havana (FRUS doc. 7).
• Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, tried to reconcile Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 (FRUS doc. 7).
• Raúl Castro, Cuba's first vice-president, gave Moscow the assurance on Somali territory in early 1978 (FRUS doc. 56).
• Abdullahi Addou, Somali ambassador to the US, discussed the Cuban shipping issue with US officials in 1973 (FRUS doc. 90).

What agreements have they signed?

• 19 July 1972: establishment of diplomatic relations (Wikipedia, Foreign relations of Somalia).
• April 1973: Cuban undertaking to send paramilitary advisers (FRUS doc. 91).

How much do they trade?

No trade between the two is recorded in UN Comtrade for recent years; Cuba and Somalia do not file trade data with it (UN Comtrade, Somalia–Cuba 2022).

What about security?

Cuba's military role in the Somali lands was in the 1970s: advisers in Somalia until 1977, then combat forces with Ethiopia against Somalia in 1977 and 1978 (FRUS doc. 91; FRUS doc. 62). In January 1980 a CIA report said Cuba had decided to keep its troops in Ethiopia because it expected the US to gain base rights at Berbera (CIA cable, 24 January 1980, FRUS doc. 100). See Foreign forces in Somalia.

Have there been disputes?

The Ogaden War was the main dispute. In April 1978, after a coup attempt, Siad Barre blamed the Soviet Union and Cuba and called them "new imperialists" (Wikipedia, Somali Democratic Republic).

Related pages

• Ogaden War, 1977
• Siad Barre
• Somali Democratic Republic, 1969 to 1991
• Somali armed forces, 1960 to 1991
• Somalia and North Korea