Part one of Dan's two-part interview with Piero Gleijeses on his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991. This is the story of Cuba's military defense of the Angolan government against a US and South Africa-backed effort to overthrow the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The future of the entire region was on the line, including the fate of apartheid in South Africa and of Namibia, then a South African colony. Learn Southern African geography by studying these maps: thedigradio.com/visions-of-freedom-maps Support The Dig with money at Patreon.com/TheDig and receive our weekly newsletter. Check out Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters by Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674245952