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Cuba in the Cold War
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Cause of ''Bay of Pigs'' operation
Fidel Castro takes command over the Cuban government after General Fulgencio Batista fledthe country on January 1, 1959.Castro begins to rise as a communist government and gives communist policies after he had promised moderate reforms.Castro turned to the Soviet Union as a trade partner and military ally. He also promised to support communist revolutions throughout the Western Hemisphere. -
Eisenhower places Embargo
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. -
Bay of Pigs
THe Bay of Pigs was an invasion from the U.S. to Cuba where 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. Eventually, the U.S. government secured the release of these prisoners by paying a ransom of $53 million in medicine and food. -
Presidency election
After winning a close election, Democrat John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th U.S. president in 1961. -
Casue of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Shipments of cargo from the Soviet Union to Cuba increased dramatically through the year, from an average of 14 per month to 28 per month in August and then to 46 per month in September. The CIA suspected these shipments included weapons. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In September, U-2 photographs from flyovers revealed improvements at certain missile-launching sites. U.S. knowledge of Soviet technology led to the alarming conclusion that these sites had been modified to have the ability to launch intermediate-range missiles—missiles that could carry nuclear weapons and that could reach the southeast United States. To the CIA, these were signs that the Soviet Union planned to use Cuba as a base for attacks—even nuclear attacks—against the United States. -
Cuban Missile Crisis Ends
In September, U-2 photographs from flyovers revealed improvements at certain missile-launching sites. U.S. knowledge of Soviet technology led to the alarming conclusion that these sites had been modified to have the ability to launch intermediate-range missiles—missiles that could carry nuclear weapons and that could reach the southeast United States. To the CIA, these were signs that the Soviet Union planned to use Cuba as a base for attacks—even nuclear attacks—against the United States. -
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. 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. These missiles could have been used to attack the Soviet Union.
