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Fidel Castro overthrows Batista
Because Batista was working with the US Government, Cuba overthrew him and installed a communist government. -
US breaks off diplomatic relations
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Bay of Pigs
1,400 anti-Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Castro -
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Cuba has received 1000s of USSR missiles, jets, boats & personnel -
US U2 spy plane takes photos of suspected USSR missile sites on Cuba
Sites nearing completion, experts believe they could be ready in 7 days
US spy planes identify 20 Soviet ships bound for Cuba carrying missiles -
Kennedy decides to quarantine Cuba
Americans panicked….rushed to grocery stores, supermarket shelves emptied of food, water and other supplies. -
JFK
Kennedy publicly calls on Khrushchev to remove weapons -
Khrushchev refuses to acknowledge blockade or presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba
President gives express orders not to fire on the boats without his permission. -
1st Soviet ships (accompanied by submarine) approach 497 miles exclusion zone
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10:32 am
Soviet ships stop and turn round -
aerial photos show continued construction of missile sites
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Kennedy receives a letter offering to negotiate over missiles in Cuba with removal of blockade and US invasion threat.
1st letter analyzed seemed to be written by Krushchev under stress and wasn't edited before sent out because it has a lot of emotion in it, not politically correct. -
US U2 plane shot down over Cuba & pilot killed. Kennedy decides to ignore second letter, but accepts terms of 1st letter
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Kennedy receives second letter calling for withdrawal of US missiles in Turkey too
2nd letter made them suspect Krushchev had been overthrown because it was much tougher, said US had to withdraw its missiles from Turkey too. We couldn’t do that….would make us look weak. -
Khrushchev agrees to dismantle Soviet missiles in Cuba
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MRBM Launch Site 2
San Cristobal
