-
Cuban Government In A Coup
Batista was a 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. -
Castro's first attempt
Castro’s first revolution attempt, in the summer of 1953, failed, and he was put in jail. -
Castro's Revolution
Castro resumed his revolutionary effort with a group of about 80 followers. They returned to Cuba, in December 1956, in an invasion that they hoped would lead to a swift victory. -
US stopped selling arms
In 1958, the United States stopped selling arms to Batista. -
Castro's Revolution Succeeds
On January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba, and Castro’s group took control of the nation. -
The Bay of Pigs
Fidel Castro took control of Cuba during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Cuba’s confiscation of Americans’ property and its growing ties to the Soviet Union caused U.S.–Cuba relations to deteriorate. Eisenhower placed an embargo on U.S exports to Cuba except for medicine and food. Then, near the end of his term of office, Eisenhower cut off all diplomatic relations with Cuba. -
The Cuban Missle Crisis
Concerns about Cuba and its close relations with the Soviet Union had led President Kennedy to try to overthrow the Cuban government. The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion had embarrassed the United States and strengthened Castro’s power. The U.S. government continued to watch Cuba closely. This included using top-secret U-2 spy planes to illegally fly over and photograph the island -
Resolution
Finally, on October 28, a settlement was reached. 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. -
Political & Economic Relations
By 1961, all political and economic relations between the United States and Cuba had ended.
