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Quarantine, not Blockade
President Kennedy blocked Cuba with the U.S Navy to prevent shipments of military supplies. Kennedy decided to call it a quarantine instead of a blockade because a blockade is an act of war. -
Missiles
Kennedy announced that the Soviets were making nuclear missiles in Cuba and that he would enforce the quarantine in Cuba until the missiles were removed. He also says that there is a long way ahead with their relationship with the Soviet Union. -
Khruschev's response
When Khruschev heard about Kennedy's broadcast, he blasted the U.S quarantine because it was a violation of international law. He also said that it was for defensive purposes and that if the U.S tried any military aggression to Cuba there would be nuclear war. -
Soviet ships might have caused war
Khruschev ordered Soviet ships to race towards the quarantine lines and if any U.S vessels tried to stop them they would sink them. That caused all the bombs to be on alert and ready for launch. -
First Letter
Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy saying that Khruschev wants to avoid nuclear war and that he will take away the missiles if the U.S will not invade the island -
Second Letter
Khrushchev wrote a second letter saying that if U.S takes their missiles out of Turkey, they will take their own missiles out too. Kennedy didn't allow that to happen because Turkey wasn't wiling to do it and Kennedy didn't want to look weak. -
Major Rudolf Anderson
When a U.S plane flew over Cuba, the Soviet forces shot it down and killed the pilot. No one knew if there were nuclear warheads there. The U.S was losing alot of options, like removing U.S Jupiter missiles from Turkey, but this should not be seen as a public trade. -
Castro
Castro ordered 270,000 cuban soldiers ot stop a U.S invasion. He was convinced that the U.S would break the pledge and invade Cuba. Soviets were trying to convince Castro to accept the Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement, but he wouldn't