Events

• Fidel Castro was the man who overthrew the previous leader of Cuba and took his place
• The Americans didn't like losing control over their own backyard as trading declined and business became nationalized
• Castro established a close relationship with the USSR by trading sugar and oil for missiles
• Castro became a communist himself in 1961
• The bay of pigs happened when Kennedy got faulty military intelligence that if they invaded Cuba the Cubans would support them
• He sent 1,500 troops only to discover that the Cubans quite liked Castro. The failure of the invasion was very embarrassing for the new president
• Castro was not amused by this and turned to the soviets for help. The USSR sent over equipment to build nuclear missile bases in Cuba
• US U2 spy planes captured a picture of missiles in Cuba and that was enough for Kennedy. It also showed soviet ships were on their way with further supplies