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The First Cuban Medical Brigade in Algeria in 1963

La première brigade médicale cubaine en Algérie en 1963
La primera brigada médica cubana en Argelia en 1963
Salim Lamrani
Cet article est une traduction de :
La première brigade médicale cubaine en Algérie en 1963 [fr]
Autre(s) traduction(s) de cet article :
La primera brigada médica cubana en Argelia en 1963 [es]

Résumés

Cet article analyse l’envoi, en 1963, de la première brigade médicale cubaine en Algérie comme un moment fondateur de la coopération Sud-Sud au début de l’indépendance algérienne. Fondé sur des archives diplomatiques, des sources de presse et des témoignages de médecins cubains, il montre que cette mission fut à la fois réponse à une crise sanitaire, geste de solidarité révolutionnaire et instrument d’affirmation internationale pour Cuba. L’étude éclaire ainsi la place de l’Algérie et de La Havane dans la construction d’une solidarité tiers-mondiste et dans l’élaboration d’une diplomatie autonome au sein de la guerre froide.

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Texte intégral

Introduction

1In the early 1960s, independent Algeria and revolutionary Cuba emerged as two major centers of opposition to the imperial order inherited from the nineteenth century. One had come out scarred from one of the most violent wars of liberation of the twentieth century; the other embraced a radical break with U.S. domination in the Caribbean. Despite the geographic distance between them, Algiers and Havana quickly discovered a deep political affinity rooted in the same quest for self-determination, the same refusal of great-power hegemony, and a shared vision of solidarity among liberated peoples. From this convergence of struggles and values grew a unique relationship, marked by concrete gestures that went far beyond declarations of principle.

2One of the most emblematic episodes of this revolutionary fraternity remains the dispatch, in 1963, of the first Cuban medical brigade to Algeria. The country had just achieved independence at the cost of countless human and material sacrifices. Yet liberation from colonial rule came with an immense challenge: the flight of much of the European workforce on which a large share of the health infrastructure depended. In a nation in ruins where epidemics spread, fewer than 600 doctors were still practicing, and only about half were Algerian. In Havana, Fidel Castro grasped the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe threatening the young Algerian state. Despite Cuba’s own difficult domestic situation, compounded by the departure of many Cuban doctors encouraged by Washington’s aggressive policies to move to the United States, the Cuban government decided to answer President Ahmed Ben Bella’s appeal. The Caribbean island thus chose to place revolutionary solidarity above its own needs.

3The arrival in Algeria, in May 1963, of Cuban doctors inaugurated one of the earliest Third World international policies of medical cooperation. Far from being a purely humanitarian act, in the eyes of Cuban and Algerian actors this mission represented the affirmation of militant internationalism, grounded in the idea that peoples recently freed from colonial domination owed a moral duty to one another. It highlights the spirit of Cuban foreign policy, shaped by an ethical vision of solidarity. The two revolutionary states converged on essential political fundamentals: national sovereignty, social justice, the emancipation of peoples, and independent decision-making, even vis-à-vis their own allies.

  • 1 Isaac Saney, « African Stalingrad: The Cuban Revolution, Internationalism and the End of Apartheid  (...)

4This article follows the line of scholarship devoted to Cuban internationalism and to Algeria’s role in the revolutionary dynamics of the Third World. This research has underscored the strategic and symbolic significance of Cuba’s engagement in Africa and the ideological and solidaristic dimensions of its actions. On the Algerian side, analyses of Algiers’ diplomatic positioning in the first years after independence have shown the importance of support for African anticolonial movements. This article examines Cuba’s first medical mission not only as a humanitarian gesture but as a founding moment of South–South diplomacy, in which revolutionary solidarity and the assertion of strategic autonomy were intertwined.1

1. An Expression of Solidarity from the Cuban People to the Algerian People

  • 2 The New York Times, « Cuba Asks Doctors to Serve in Algeria », October 19, 1962. Voir également : L (...)

5During President Ahmed Ben Bella’s visit to Havana in October 1962, he described to Prime Minister Fidel Castro the dramatic health situation in his country following the departure of most European doctors. The nation of 11 million inhabitants, ravaged by war and epidemics of all kinds, counted barely 600 physicians, only half of whom were Algerian. The Cuban leader then issued an appeal to health professionals so that a brigade of 50 volunteers could go to the aid of the Algerian population.2

6In a speech on October 17, 1962, the Cuban prime minister explained the public health emergency facing the African country:

In Algeria, most doctors were French, and many have left. Thus, with four million more inhabitants than we have, and with the large number of diseases inherited from colonialism, they have only a third, perhaps less than a third, of the doctors we have. They are living through a truly tragic situation in the field of health. That is why, in our conversations with the students, we explained that 50 volunteers were needed to go to Algeria to help the Algerians. And we are sure we will not lack volunteers.

  • 3 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario de l (...)

Fifty, no more. And we are certain there will be far more volunteers, as an expression of solidarity from our people with an friendly people in a situation worse than our own.3

  • 4 Salim Lamrani, « Le système de santé à Cuba : origines, doctrine, résultats », Études caribéennes, (...)
  • 5 Hedelberto López Blanch, « Primera misión médica internacionalista de Cuba », Juventud Rebelde, Jun (...)

7Cuba itself faced a troubling health situation after nearly half of its doctors left for the United States, drawn by the favorable migration policy implemented by the Eisenhower administration. Washington aimed to drain the country of its human capital as part of its war against the Revolution.4 Yet despite their own difficulties, Cubans did not fail to respond. In May 1963, a brigade composed of 29 doctors, four dentists, 14 nurses, and seven health technicians, among them ten women, traveled to Algeria, accompanied by Cuba’s Minister of Public Health, José Ramón Machado Ventura. These health professionals were deployed across the country, In Algiers, Blida, Sidi Bel Abbès, Constantine, Sétif, and Biskra, in order to provide the broadest possible medical coverage to the population.5

  • 6 Hedelberto López Blanch, Historias secretas de médicos cubanos, La Havane, Ediciones La Memoria, 20 (...)

8Dr. Pablo Resik Habib was appointed head of the first Cuban medical brigade because of his Arab origins. Cuban professionals’ salaries were paid to their families who remained on the island, and the Cuban government covered living expenses. Algeria, for its part, provided housing and sometimes food. The experience was not easy. The main obstacle Cubans faced was the language barrier, since brigade members spoke neither Arabic nor French. During consultations, “translation chains” had to be created to communicate with patients. “We eventually managed to understand them, but at the cost of extraordinary effort at first. Later we learned some basic French and Arabic,” Resik recalled. Added to this was the discovery of a culturally different country, shaped by an Arab-Muslim tradition with its own customs and a social way of life distinct from that of island residents.6

  • 7 Ibid.

9For many members of the brigade, the mission in Algeria also meant a difficult separation from family. “I left my wife alone in Havana with our three-month-old daughter, because we had no family in the capital,” Resik noted. Driven by revolutionary idealism, relatives supported those who departed: “[My wife] never opposed my mission; on the contrary, she encouraged me to fulfill it.” Meanwhile, Cuban social services provided support to families who remained at home.7

  • 8 Ibid.

10In response to family separation, the Cubans carried out their mission by forming “a small homeland” in Algeria. “We took care of one another,” Resik explained. On a human level, the experience was profoundly enriching: “I kept a deep inner satisfaction from it, the happiness of giving, which is far stronger than that of receiving.” Politically, the Cubans came to understand what colonialism had meant for the Algerian people. Culturally, brigade members were immersed in a society, a language, a climate, and customs completely different from their own. The experience also brought scientific gains, since health professionals had to work under extreme conditions and confront diseases unknown in Cuba, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and various forms of parasitic infection.8

  • 9 Ibid.

11Pediatrician Sara Perelló Perelló was among the first Cuban brigade sent to Algeria. She began studying Arabic, which facilitated her work and her integration into the population. “Children and families liked me a lot. I adapted well to this culture. … I spent time with Algerians and they sometimes told me I was half Arab, half Cuban,” she recalled. The Algerian population, accustomed to paying for consultations, was also surprised to see that Cuban doctors worked free of charge and asked for no compensation. Despite the distance, Dr. Perelló retains a moving memory of her stay: “As physicians, we grew on a human level… We felt more mature, more useful, and we discovered that our profession had a higher meaning than the one we had assigned to it.”9

12While the mission undeniably responded to an urgent humanitarian situation in Algeria, it also constituted, for Cuba, an instrument of international affirmation. By intervening in a newly decolonized country that was politically central within the Third World, Havana expressed its solidarity and positioned itself as an autonomous actor on the international stage, outside the strict bipolar framework. This first experience of health cooperation also foreshadowed Cuba’s future internationalist medical policies, which would become one of the major components of its diplomacy.

2. A Durable Relationship Despite Political Upheavals

13Because of their shared struggle against colonial and neocolonial domination, their strong affirmation of independence, and the solidarity uniting their peoples in fights for emancipation, the Algerian Revolution and the Cuban Revolution forged very deep ties early on. Le Monde noted that the two countries were regarded as global reference points in the struggle for self-determination:

  • 10 Michel Tatu, « Ben Bella arrive à Moscou. L’U.R.S.S. réserve un accueil grandiose au ‘Premier des r (...)

In many respects, the Algerian Revolution today reminds the Soviets of the Cuban Revolution. The prestige earned by its long struggle is identical, and the analogy extends even to the person of its leader. Through his long past as an underground militant, through his current style of power and even his clothing, and through the uncontested position just confirmed by the FLN congress, Mr. Ben Bella appears as Africa’s principal revolutionary, just as Mr. Castro is the symbol of revolution in Latin America.10

  • 11 Ibid. See also: Henry Tanner, « Lenin Peace Prize Given Ben Bella », The New York Times, May 1, 196 (...)

14The French daily reported on Ahmed Ben Bella’s visit to Moscow in April 1964 by drawing a parallel with the Cuban leader: “Everyone agrees here in predicting that Mr. Ben Bella will receive a grandiose welcome throughout his stay in the Soviet Union. When one looks for a precedent for the psychological reactions such a visit provokes in Moscow, Fidel Castro’s name immediately comes to mind.”11

  • 12 Central Intelligence Agency, « National Intelligence Estimate: Algeria », December 23, 1964, Foreig (...)
  • 13 Dean Rusk, « Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Algeria », June 17, 1964, Fore (...)

15“Algeria’s revolutionary convictions lead it to support virtually any movement bearing the anti-colonialist label,” the CIA emphasized.12 Beyond this community of ideals uniting Algiers and Havana against colonialism, a genuine fraternal friendship cemented relations between Ahmed Ben Bella and Fidel Castro, who held one another in mutual respect and admiration. Secretary of State Dean Rusk could not understand this attachment: “Ben Bella stille seemed curiously fascinated by Castro.”13

  • 14 The New York Times, « Reconnaissance Over Cuba », May 3, 1964 ; Hedrick Smith, « U.S. Disturbed by (...)
  • 15 C. L. Suzlberger, « Foreign Affairs. Algeria – Avec Moi le Déluge », The New York Times, May 2, 196 (...)
  • 16 The New York Times, « Cubans Are Distressed », June 21, 1965.

16The New York Times in turn highlighted this mutual esteem, referring to “Prime Minister Castro’s warm friend, Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella,”14 adding that the latter sometimes “cites Castro as his ideological model.”15 In reality, the chosen development paths were distinct: Havana professed Marxism-Leninism, while Algiers leaned toward a form of socialism adapted to its historical and cultural realities. Yet despite these differences, Ben Bella was, according to the U.S. press, “Cuba’s closest friend in the world, possibly closer than the Soviet Union.”16

  • 17 Jean-François Kahn, « Les Algériens se préparent à accueillir le Président de la République cubaine (...)

17For Algerians, Cuba was first and foremost “the Island of Freedom,” and their attachment to its Revolution was emotional and disinterested. As Le Monde stressed, Havana was “practically of no help to Algeria, and could hardly bring it anything but a little cane sugar, which in any case nobody buys for lack of habit.” Algerians displayed “a genuine passion for Cuba.” “This cannot be explained,” an Algerian figure noted.17

  • 18 Tad Szulc, « Cuba Bid to Join Algiers Parley Seen », The New York Times, January 13, 1965.
  • 19 David D. Newsom, « Action Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affai (...)
  • 20 The New York Times, « Ben Bella Bids U.S. Open A ‘Dialogue’ With Castro », October 14, 1964.
  • 21 Robert W. Komer, « Memorandum for the Record », January 10, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United S (...)

18In reality, Algerians shared with Cubans a visceral attachment to sovereignty, including vis-à-vis their strategic allies. The New York Times emphasized “Havana’s policy of ‘independence’ within the communist world.”18 Algiers and Havana were allies of the communist bloc, but in no way subordinates, as the United States itself acknowledged: the island was not “under their [Soviet] control.”19 In a 1964 message to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Ahmed Ben Bella reaffirmed the inalienable principle of self-determination: “The United States must understand that Cuba has the right to choose the regime and political orientation which it feels is best adapted to its people.”20 Washington could only take note of Ben Bella’s “continued pro-Cuba comments.”21

  • 22 Dean Rusk, « Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Algeria », January 13, 1964, F (...)

19For Cubans, the Algerians’ struggle against colonialism was “a true example for Third World countries,” because it showed oppressed and exploited peoples the path to freedom. In the same way, Algiers took the side of all Third World independence movements, offering refuge, resources, support, and training on its territory so that the principles of human emancipation could be applied in countries still under colonial rule. The United States was aware of this reality: “There is genuine strength in Algerian public attitudes related to Bloc and the Arab support for social change; opposition to colonialism; support for militant nationalism.”22

  • 23 David D. Newsom, « Action Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affai (...)
  • 24 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario del (...)

20Ahmed Ben Bella had “an emotional attachment to situations he consider[ed] revolutionary and anti-imperialist,” the State Department noted.23 Cuba fully identified with this commitment, which restored nobility to foreign policy, where particular interests were not the sole concern of governments. Fidel Castro expressed his people’s sentiment in these terms: “I tell the Algerians that over there, on the American continent, in the Caribbean, among the Cuban people, you will always find a true brother.”24

  • 25 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario del (...)
  • 26 The New York Times, « Algeria Mending Tie to Soviet Bloc », July 25, 1965.

21The first medical mission lasted a year. It was replaced in June 1964 by a new brigade of 61 health professionals, including 27 women. For two full years, Cuban doctors offered their services to the Algerian population. Algerian-Cuban cooperation ended on June 19, 1965, mainly for political reasons, following the coup led by Houari Boumediene against President Ahmed Ben Bella. Fidel Castro openly condemned the overthrow, recalled his ambassador, Jorge Serguera, and firmly defended the deposed Algerian leader: “We have no doubt about the good faith with which Ben Bella carried out his duties, about the honesty of his proposals and positions in international conferences where Cuba was present; and we can testify that the most revolutionary positions were his.”25 The New York Times then recalled that “during his 33 months in power, Mr. Ben Bella regularly assured Cuba of Algeria’s ‘total support’ in the island’s fight against ‘imperialism.’”26

  • 27 Central Intelligence Agency, « National Intelligence Estimate: Algeria », December 23, 1964, Foreig (...)
  • 28 Central Intelligence Agency, « Intelligence Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency  (...)
  • 29 The New York Times, « U.S. Recognizes New Algiers Regime », July 7, 1965.

22Washington was surprised by Ben Bella’s fall. As late as December 1964, U.S. intelligence services still estimated that “Ben Bella’s chances of remaining in power for the next two years or so [were] good,” notably because his vice president and defense minister remained “loyal.” “We do not believe that Boumediene would use the army to oust Ben Bella, except under extraordinary conditions,” analysts concluded.27 After the constitutional rupture of June 1965 – linked more to personal ambitions than to ideological divergences – the United States judged that the regime change would “probably not produce any abrupt changes in eitheir Algeria’s domestic or foreign policy.”28 Washington officially recognized the new authorities on July 6, 1965.29

  • 30 Claudia Maria Delgado Torres, « A 62 años de la colaboración médica en Argelia », Agencia Cubana de (...)

23Relations between Cuba and Algeria cooled after Ahmed Ben Bella’s overthrow, less because of an ideological break than because of internal political realignment, before resuming a few years later and strengthening again during Fidel Castro’s visit to Algeria on May 8, 1972. They continue to this day, with the presence of 1,200 Cuban health professionals—70% of them women–working in 85 health facilities across 28 wilayas. Cuba has also established four ophthalmology centers that have enabled thousands of Algerians suffering from cataracts or other eye diseases to regain their sight.30

Conclusion

24The dispatch of the first Cuban medical brigade to Algeria in 1963 represents a decisive milestone in the history of revolutionary internationalism. At a time when Algeria was emerging drained from one of the fiercest liberation wars of the twentieth century and Cuba faced constant U.S. hostility, both countries chose to place solidarity at the heart of their international action. Running counter to the power politics that dominated international relations at the time, Algiers and Havana demonstrated that peoples recently freed from colonialism were capable of inventing new forms of cooperation grounded in equality, fraternity, and the determination to build a more just world order.

25For Cuban and Algerian authorities, this medical mission did not merely meet an urgent health need; it embodied a shared vision of human emancipation. Cuban professionals, often confronted with extreme working conditions, displayed remarkable commitment, revealing an ethical conception of their role in the world. Algerians, for their part, welcomed these volunteers as brothers from another continent, animated by the same struggle against domination and injustice. From this encounter emerged a genuine community of destiny, reinforced by the personal affinity between Ahmed Ben Bella and Fidel Castro, two emblematic figures of twentieth-century revolutionary movements.

26Although the 1965 coup temporarily interrupted this momentum, it did not break the deep bond forged between the two nations. Algerian-Cuban relations resumed and consolidated in subsequent decades, testifying to the resilience of a friendship forged in adversity and in the struggle against the colonial order. Even today, the presence of hundreds of Cuban professionals in Algeria recalls the historical depth of this cooperation, founded not on material interest but on solidarity.

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Bibliographie

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CASTRO RUZ, Fidel, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario de la Dirección Nacional de las ORI y Primer Ministro del Gobierno Revolucionario, en la apertura del Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Preclínicas ‘Victoria de Girón’, en Marianao », República de Cuba, October 17, 1962. http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1962/esp/f171062e.html (website accessed on November 15, 2025).

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Notes

1 Isaac Saney, « African Stalingrad: The Cuban Revolution, Internationalism and the End of Apartheid », Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 33, n°5, September 2006, p. 81–117 ; Piero Gleijeses, Conflicting Missions: Washington, Cuba, and Africa, 1959–1975, Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 2013 Piero Gleijeses, Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991, Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 2013 ; Nelson P. Valdés, « Cuba y Angola: una política de solidaridad internacional », Estudios de Asia y África, El Colegio de México, October-December 1979, n°4, p. 609–612 ; Jeffrey James Byrne, Mecca of Revolution: Algeria, Decolonization, and the Third World Order, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016.

2 The New York Times, « Cuba Asks Doctors to Serve in Algeria », October 19, 1962. Voir également : Le Monde, « Deux mille médecins seulement exercent en Algérie », November 22, 1965.

3 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario de la Dirección Nacional de las ORI y Primer Ministro del Gobierno Revolucionario, en la apertura del Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Preclínicas ‘Victoria de Girón’, en Marianao », República de Cuba, October 17, 1962. http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1962/esp/f171062e.html (website accessed on February 22, 2022).

4 Salim Lamrani, « Le système de santé à Cuba : origines, doctrine, résultats », Études caribéennes, hors-série n° 7, July 2021.

5 Hedelberto López Blanch, « Primera misión médica internacionalista de Cuba », Juventud Rebelde, June 17, 2015. https://www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2015-06-17/primera-mision-medica-internacionalista-de-cuba (website accessed on February 22, 2022) ; Piero Gleijeses, « Cuba’s First Venture in Africa: Algeria, 1961–1965 », Journal of Latin American Studies, February 1996, volume 28, n°1, p. 169.

6 Hedelberto López Blanch, Historias secretas de médicos cubanos, La Havane, Ediciones La Memoria, 2005.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Michel Tatu, « Ben Bella arrive à Moscou. L’U.R.S.S. réserve un accueil grandiose au ‘Premier des révolutionnaires africains’ », Le Monde, April 27, 1964.

11 Ibid. See also: Henry Tanner, « Lenin Peace Prize Given Ben Bella », The New York Times, May 1, 1964.

12 Central Intelligence Agency, « National Intelligence Estimate: Algeria », December 23, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 16.

13 Dean Rusk, « Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Algeria », June 17, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 10.

14 The New York Times, « Reconnaissance Over Cuba », May 3, 1964 ; Hedrick Smith, « U.S. Disturbed by Moscow’s Overtures to Algiers », The New York Times, May 12, 1964.

15 C. L. Suzlberger, « Foreign Affairs. Algeria – Avec Moi le Déluge », The New York Times, May 2, 1964.

16 The New York Times, « Cubans Are Distressed », June 21, 1965.

17 Jean-François Kahn, « Les Algériens se préparent à accueillir le Président de la République cubaine », Le Monde, October 12, 1964.

18 Tad Szulc, « Cuba Bid to Join Algiers Parley Seen », The New York Times, January 13, 1965.

19 David D. Newsom, « Action Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (Fredericks) to the Under Secretary of State (Ball) and the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Harriman) », May 14, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 8.

20 The New York Times, « Ben Bella Bids U.S. Open A ‘Dialogue’ With Castro », October 14, 1964.

21 Robert W. Komer, « Memorandum for the Record », January 10, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 6.

22 Dean Rusk, « Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Algeria », January 13, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 7.

23 David D. Newsom, « Action Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (Fredericks) to the Under Secretary of State (Ball) and the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Harriman) », op. cit.

24 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba y Primer Ministro del Gobierno Revolucionario, en la concentración popular de despedida efectuada en la Explanada de África, Argel, Argelia », República de Cuba, May 16, 1972, http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1972/esp/f160572e.html (website accessed on Novembre 15, 2025). See also : Paul Hofmann, « Algeria Target of Cuba’s Ardor », The New York Times, 18 mars 1965.

25 Fidel Castro Ruz, « Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Secretario del PRUS y Primer Ministro del Gobierno Revolucionario, a los delegados cubanos seleccionados para representar a Cuba en el IX Festival Mundial de la Juventud y los Estudiantes, en el hotel Comodoro », República de Cuba, June 26 1965. http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1965/esp/f260665e.html (website accessed on Novembre 15, 2025). See also : Le Monde, « M. Fidel Castro : le despotisme militaire et la contre-révolution ne pourront s’installer longtemps en Algérie », June 29, 1965 ; The New York Times, « Castro Condemns the Algeria Coup », June 27, 1965 ; The New York Times, « Algiers Shuts Cuban Agency », July 1, 1965.

26 The New York Times, « Algeria Mending Tie to Soviet Bloc », July 25, 1965.

27 Central Intelligence Agency, « National Intelligence Estimate: Algeria », December 23, 1964, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 16.

28 Central Intelligence Agency, « Intelligence Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency », June 19, 1965, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa, document 21.

29 The New York Times, « U.S. Recognizes New Algiers Regime », July 7, 1965.

30 Claudia Maria Delgado Torres, « A 62 años de la colaboración médica en Argelia », Agencia Cubana de Noticias, July 17, 2025.

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Salim Lamrani, « The First Cuban Medical Brigade in Algeria in 1963 »Études caribéennes [En ligne], 16 | Février 2026, mis en ligne le 12 février 2026, consulté le 13 mars 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/38175 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/15qcm

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Salim Lamrani

Professeur des universités, Faculté de Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Département d’études hispaniques et latino-américaines, Université de La Réunion

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