Cuban Missile Crisis

Name 6 time landmarks

January 1959

1960

1961

1962

22 October 1962

28 October 1962

January 1959

Cuban Revolution

Where communist Fidel Castro overthrow pro USA dictator Batista

USA originally hoped Castro would be moderate but relations quickly detoriated as Castro took land off wealthy U.S. companies

In response USA cut off economic support and stopped buying Cuban sugar- pushing Castro to USSR

1960

By 1960, Khrushchev was openly supplying Cuba with economic aid and military equipment- alarming America since Cuba was only 90 miles off coast of Florida

1961

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Newly elected JFK authorised a secret plan inherited from Einsenhower(Bay of Pigs)

April 1961, 1400 CIA trained Cuban exiles attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro (failed distrasously)

Humiliation for USA

Castro even closer to Soviets and publicly declared Cuba as a socialist state and formally allied with Moscow

This failure convinced Khrushchev that Kennedy was inexperienced and perhaps weak, encouraging bolder actions/approach

1962

Most dangerous stage

Khrushchev secretly stationed nuclear missiles in Cuba in protection for potential invasion

October 1962- American U-2 spy planes revealed this from images

Kennedy immediately convened ExComm to consider options

Some advised air strike/ invasion but Kennedy didn’t want to risk nucleur war

22 October 1962

JFK announces naval “quarantine”- a blockaide- around Cuba to stop further Soviet ships

For several days, put world on brink

Soviet ships approached blockaide pine and a U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba

Behind the scenes both sides looked for peace

26-27 October

Khrushchev sent 2 messages

One was offered to remove missiles in exchange for a promise to not invade Cuba

Second was to remove missiles from Turkey

JFK public accepted the first one and secretly agreed to the second

28 October 1962

Khrushchev announced Soviet missiles to be withdrawn. In return no invasion of Cuba by Kennedy and later quietly removed American Jupiter missiles from Turkey

Cuban missile crisis ended without war but profound consequences:

Direct hotline set up between Moscow and Washington

1963 Test Ban Treaty (greater control on nucleur weapons)

Kennedy emerged with enhanced prestige