How the US Intervened to Sabotage Angola’s Independence

Fifty years ago today, Angola gained its independence after centuries of Portuguese domination. But US officials like Henry Kissinger were already working hard to orchestrate a devastating proxy war that snuffed out the hopes of national liberation.

November 11, 2025, marks the fiftieth anniversary of Angola’s independence, ending more than five centuries of Portuguese domination. The independence struggle had been long and bloody, marked by outside intervention that turned Angola into a Cold War battleground.

In this regard, Angola was not alone. In the aftermath of World War II, African independence movements sprang up in French, British, and Belgian colonies, where civilian populations had been forced to support the European war effort. In exchange for their sacrifices, they demanded