Cuba Archive - Case 5217

Case ID: 5217

Title: Dr.

First name: Martín

Last name: Chang Puga

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 37

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:24 / Month:1 / Year:1939

Civil Status: Married

Date of death/disappearance: Day:15 / Month:6 / Year:1976

Citizenship: Cuba

Last known address: Alta Habana

Last known city: La Habana

Last known province-TOD: Ciudad de La Habana

Last known province current: Ciudad de La Habana

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Carretera de Nueva Lisboa al Puerto de Lobito

Location of death - city: N/A

Location of death province - at TOD: N/A

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: Angola

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Armed forces of another country

Death attribution detail: N/A

Associated Event: Angola war

Case description:

A medical doctor specialist in epidemiology who was part of a medical team called for service in Angola in November 1975 in a secret operation to support Cuban troops clandestinely in Angola (Special Forces and others).  He was part of a small military convoy that was attacked by UNITA and was killed when his truck flipped. He left a widow, a son, age 11, a daughter, age 9. A Nuevitas hospital is named after him. His remains were returned to Cuba in the Operación Tributo.
Cuba's 16-year military intervention in Angola (1975-1991) that involved over 377 thousand Cubans in support of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the SWAPO (South African People's Organization, fighting for Namibia's independence),  supported by the USSR. They were fighting, in a cold war scenario, against UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the FNLA (National Liberation Front of Angola, supported by the United States and South Africa.  Cuba claims that 2,085 Cubans died in the war, but estimates are much higher. 
======================
Medico militar que fue enviado a Angola en  una operación secreta para dar apoyo a tropas cubanas en ese país y murió cuando el convoy donde viajaba fue atacado por tropas de Unita.
La intervención militar cubana de 16 años en Angola (1975-1991) involucró a más de 377 mil cubanos en apoyo del Movimiento Popular para la Liberación de Angola (MPLA) y la SWAPO (Organización Popular Sudafricana, luchando por la independencia de Namibia), con el apoyo de la URSS. Estaban luchando, en un escenario de la guerra fría, contra UNITA (Unión Nacional para la Independencia Total de Angola) y el FNLA (Frente Nacional de  Liberación de Angola, con el apoyo de Estados Unidos y Sudáfrica. El régimen afirma que 2,085 cubanos murieron en esa guerra, pero se estima que fueron muchos más.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Combat: Fatality or Missing in Action

Occupations: - Military Specific Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Armed Forces: military or militia

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Martín Chang Puga