Hi there,

In coming days Democracy Now! will continue to bring you post-election results and in-depth analysis on on the impact of the coming Trump administration. Because Democracy Now! does not accept corporate advertising or sponsorship revenue, we rely on viewers like you to feature voices and analysis you won’t get anywhere else. Can you donate $15 to Democracy Now! today to support our post-election coverage? Right now, a generous donor will DOUBLE your gift, which means your $15 donation is worth $30. Please help us air in-depth, substantive coverage of the outcome of the election and what it means for our collective future. Thank you so much! Every dollar makes a difference.

-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Nelson Mandela & Fidel Castro: A Video You Won’t See on the Evening News

Web ExclusiveDecember 10, 2013

In 1991, Nelson Mandela traveled to Cuba to meet with then-President Fidel Castro on one of his first international trips after being freed from prison. Mandela called the Cuban Revolution “a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people” and thanked Cuba for supporting the African National Congress at a time when it was banned in South Africa and condemned by the United States. “Who trained our people, who gave us resources, who helped so many of our soldiers, our doctors?” Mandela said to Castro. “You have not come to our country — when are you coming?”

Earlier today, Cuban President Raúl Castro spoke at the Mandela memorial in South Africa. Watch part of his speech

AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go back to that moment in 1991 that Raúl Castro just described when Mandela traveled to Cuba to meet then-President Fidel Castro.

NELSON MANDELA: Before we say anything, you must tell me when you are coming to South Africa. You see—no, just a moment, just a moment, just a moment.

PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO: [translated] The sooner the better.

NELSON MANDELA: And we have had a visit from a wide variety of people. And our friend, Cuba, which had helped us in training our people, gave us resources to keep current with our struggle, trained our people as doctors, and SWAPO, you have not come to our country. When are you coming?

PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO: [translated] I haven’t visited my South African homeland yet. I want it, I love it as a homeland.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Nelson Mandela in 1991, soon after he was released from jail, visiting President Fidel Castro in Cuba, thanking him for his support. The United States had provided surveillance intelligence to the apartheid regime in the early 1960s that located Nelson Mandela in hiding, that led to his arrest and subsequent 27 years in prison. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report.

Related Story

Web ExclusiveJun 03, 2024Political Earthquake in South Africa: ANC to Form Coalition Gov’t Amid Genocide Case Against Israel
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top