Bay of Pigs + Cuban Missile Crisis

What happened?

Why?

Impact?

April 1961:

1400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles land in BoP to incite an uprising and overthrow Castro.

• Cubans make it look like a counter-revolution instead of a US-backed attack

Failed because:

• the rebels had limited training

• US distanced themselves, refused to send support

• Castro knew- they were met with 20,000 soldiers

• locals did not join in as they were largely happy with Castro

All exiles arrested/killed within days.

Cuba had allied closer and closer with the USSR.

USA was concerned over a country so close to them being Communist.

Heightened US and USSR tension

Damaged US rep:

• looked as controlling as USSR

• Khrushchev thought JFK was weak

• embrrassing

USSR claimed it showed that Cubans were happy being Communist.

Castro announced he was a Communist.

• requested help from USSR to defend against USA

The Thirteen Days

U-2 took pictures of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

JFK had 2 weeks before they became operational so he had to choose carefully.*

He announced blockade of Cuba.

USSR refuses to stop, does stop.

K sends a letter to JFK with terms of removal and later revises his terms.

Bobby Kennedy meets the ambassador and agrees a deal to resolve the crisis.

* accounting for:

• panicked American response to missiles on Cuba

• effect on election

• impact on Cold War- Khrushchev + propaganda

• invasion would be unpopular

• bombing would be too aggressive

Propaganda victory for US

• USSR backed down

JFK maintained world peace- positive US opinion.

USSR removed US missiles in Turkey. (kept secret from US)

JFK weak for compromising with Communists.

Cuba remained Communist + allied with USSR.