The Cold War CUBA

CUBA: PRE WAR PERIOD Cuba remained loyal to Spain far longer than other Latin American countries. It was not until 1902 they became an independent nation. This was after five years of US military occupation, a theme that continued on for the next thirty years with three other US military occupations of the unstable Cuba. Cuba’s close geographical connection to the US signified the apparent need to monitor the activities of Cuba, but the student led revolutions led to the overthrow of US-backed dictator Batista and the rise of Fidel Catsro in 1959

Fidel Castro, a charismatic anti-US revolutionary successfully revolted against the US supported Government and seized power on the 1 st of January By April 1961, he had officially begun the process of transforming Cuba into a one party communist state. He established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, and ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, providing stability to Cuba after its early turbulent past. His rule brought about increased literacy, lowered racism and improved health care but reduced the personal, economical and political freedoms of Cubans, as well as leading to one of the biggest crisis’ faced in the modern world, the Cuban missile crisis. THE RISE OF FIDEL CASTRO

THE DETERIORATION OF US-CUBAN RELATIONSHIP The relationship between Cuba and the US rapidly deteriorated : The US placed an embargo on Cuba October of 1960 after certain acts against American citizens, such as the arrests of US citizens and expropriations without compensation. Diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba were broken off by the US on January 3 rd, In April of 1961, the CIA sponsored an invasion by Cuban exiles, The Bay of Pigs Invasion. Its failure led to a major win in Cuban propaganda for having “defeated the USA” The increasing relations and support from the USSR increased the tensions between the US and Cuba, but Cuba was increasingly reliant on the economic support of the USSR

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

HOW DID IT START? After the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the US planned Operation Mongoose, which included a broad range of activities to topple Castro and implant a US supported government. It included: Intelligence collection Sabotage operations Searching for leaders to stand against Castro and more The Northwoods Operation also faked and acted real terrorist activities that could then be blamed on Castro and used as an excuse for invasion. The assassination plots against Castro remain a controversial topic today, and the extent of President Kennedy’s involvement is unknown. In September, 1962, the Soviet missiles were discovered in Cuba and the crisis began.

WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT? The US had placed missiles in Turkey, located in close proximity to the USSR in 1959, proving their commitment to Turkish security. The placement of these missiles, with special consideration to the growing tension and suspicion between the two great powers, was obviously considered an act of aggression by the US towards the USSR. The Soviets ties to Cuba, most especially the economic support they provided, allowed them to then place a small number of missiles in Cuba. During a routine surveillance flight over Cuba, US planes photographed the missile sites. These photographed were immediately sent to the White House.

One of the famous alternate plans discussed by the US army generals was the placement of LSD in the air vents of a Cuban television studio before a speech of Casto’s, in an attempt to persuade the people of Cuba that Castro was unstable and mad. The Naval Quarantine of Cuba: The US enacted a naval quarantine of Cuba to prevent the transportation of further missiles to Cuba. It was carefully not considered a ‘Blockade’ as this would have been an act of war. This was deemed the most effective action without an act of war. If USSR ships continued past the US ships, the war would be from their side. This was the middle approach favored by Kennedy, including a strict letter sent to Khrushchev demanding the removal of the missiles. US REACTION TO THE CRISIS IMMEDIATE RESPONSE ALTERNATIVE PLANS

The Resolution Khrushchev’s two letters of response: The first letter sent agreed to the conditions stated by Roosevelt to remove the missiles from Cuba. The second letter, sent almost immediately after the first, demanded the removal of the US missiles before the removal of the USSR missiles. The next few days were extremely tense. The naval quarantine was considered by the USSR as an act of aggression. For a brief period of time, a nuclear holocaust appeared imminent. Kennedy ignored the second letter and replied to the first, with the guarantee to not attack Cuba. Robert Kennedy then met secretly with the Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin and indicated the US were planning to remove the Turkey missiles anyway. Under this secret agreement, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles.

The Cuban Missile crisis was significant for many reasons: It highlighted the tension between the two powers and ideologies, and was one of the closest they came to open warfare. It illustrated the dangers of open warfare in the new nuclear world. To the majority of the world, it appeared the US had won the crisis, although the Soviets had agreed to remove them with the guarantee of protection of Cuba and the removal of the Turkish missiles. This damaged the people of the USSR’s respect for Khrushchev. WHAT WERE THE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS?