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Period: to
Cuba in 1950's through !960's
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Batista became dictaor of Cuba
General Fulgencio Batista was the military dictator with a reputation for corruption and harsh treatment of his enemies. He had taken over the Cuban government in a coup in 1952. A coup, or coup d’état, is a sudden, violent overthrow of the government. Batista’s coup occurred just before scheduled elections. -
Fidel Castro's first revolution attempt
Castro reacted to Batista’s coup by becoming a communist and attempting his own revolution. Castro claimed that he wanted to establish a regime that promoted political liberties and moderate reforms. Castro’s first revolution attempt, in the summer of 1953, failed, and he was put in jail. -
The Landing of the Granma
They returned to Cuba, in December 1956, in an invasion that they hoped would lead to a swift victory. The invasion failed, but the survivors hid in the mountains of Cuba and launched both a publicity campaign and guerrilla warfare operations. -
General Fulgencio Batista fled
General Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba because The publicity promised to replace the brutality and corruption of the Batista regime with a just government. Castro’s rebel force grew to around 800. Despite this small number, they had much success, and Batista gradually lost support. In 1958, the United States stopped selling arms to Batista. -
Bays of Pigs invasion
the CIA-backed force of 1,400 Cuban refugees landed at the swampy Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast. A Cuban force of 20,000 easily overwhelmed the invaders, capturing about 1,100 men and imprisoning them. -
Cuba has missiles
the administration knew with certainty that Cuba had the missiles and the launching capacity to attack the United States. However, it was unknown if or when an attack might occur. Kennedy and his advisers considered several possible responses such as diplomacy, covert sabotage, a blockade, limited air strikes, or a full-scale invasion. -
President Kennedy issued a formal demand to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
President Kennedy issued a formal demand to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev that the missiles be removed from Cuba. Kennedy gave a televised speech announcing that the United States had indisputable evidence of offensive missiles in Cuba. Kennedy also announced that he was imposing a blockade “on all offensive military equipment.” -
Khrushchev agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba
Khrushchev agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba and to return the missiles already in Cuba to the Soviet Union. In addition, he agreed to dismantle the launching sites. In return, Kennedy promised that the United States would not invade Cuba and also secretly agreed to remove U.S. nuclear-armed missiles from Turkey.
