Cuban missile crisis

• In 1959 there was a revolution in Cuba and the pro American government was replaced with a socialist state led by fidel castro
• The USA responded by banning the import of sugar from Cuba, which was a large economic disaster for Cuba
• The soviet Union offered to buy Cubas sugar instead and links between Cuba and the USSR increased, which the Americans felt was unacceptable, as Cuba was only 145 kilometers from the USA
• The Bay Of Pigs invasion: April 1961

  • President Kennedy approved a plan for an invasion of Cuba
  • The CIA trained up around 1,400 Cuban exiles
  • The attack began on the 16th of April when old US bomber planes painted to look like Cuban air force planes attacked the real Cuban airforce
  • However this wasn't massively effective and not all planes were destroyed
  • The exiles had assumed that the Cuban people would support them, but instead they supported Castro, and they were defeated
• Effects of the bay of pigs invasion:

  • Severely embarrassed Kennedy
  • Made Castros position more secure as people were now united under his leadership
  • Castro was worried that the USA would attack again and so requested that nuclear missiles be placed in Cuba, so the USSR began secretly building a number of bases there which were discovered by the US using a U-2 spy plane
• On the 16th of October, 1962, President Kennedy was informed about the missile bases on Cuba.
• On the 22nd of October, 1962, President Kennedy announced a blockade of Cuba by the US military and US military bases were put on DEFCON 2.
• On the 23rd of October, 1962, President Kennedy received a letter from Kruschev announcing that the soviet ships would continue to Cuba regardless of the blockade.
• On the 24th of October, 1962, soviet ships reached the blockade and turned back or stopped.
• On the 26th of October, 1962, President Kennedy received a letter from Kruschev saying that if he agreed not to attack Cuba again there could be negotiations about removing the missiles.
• On the 27th of October, 1962, another letter from Kruschev in which he said the USA would have to remove their missile bases from Turkey before the soviet union would remove the ones in Cuba.
• A U2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba and President Kennedy was advised to launch an attack.
• Instead of launching an attack, President Kennedy communicated to Kruschev that the USA would agree not to attack Cuba in return for the missiles being removed, or the USA would attack.
• On the 28th of October, 1962, Kruschev accepted the deal, ending the Cuban missile crisis.