An African country of limited strategic significance, Angola achieved independence from Portugal in November 1975 and thereafter became the battleground for a surrogate conflict fought between the United States and Cuba. The Central Intelligence Agency saw the civil war as an opportunity to sap Fidel Castro’s commitment to the Marxist guerrillas seeking to seize power. The CIA’s covert involvement in Angola acquired worldwide attention following the publication of In Search of Enemies by a disaffected CIA officer, John Stockwell.