2. When Did This Occur??
October 14-28, 1962
13 Day Stand-Off

3. How Did It Begin??
In 1959, Fidel Castro, backed by the Soviet Union, overthrew dictator Bautista and established a Communist government in Cuba.
In April 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles, who had fled to Miami, were trained by the U.S. military to take out Castro, landed in Cuba in the Bay of Pigs. Within 24 hours, they were either dead or captured by Castro.
On October 14, 1962, a U-2 plane took pictures of Soviet long-range missiles being assembled in Cuba.

5. Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev President John F. Kennedy
Who Was Involved??
Fidel Castro in Cuba
Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev
President John F. Kennedy
Attorney General Bobby Kennedy
Russian Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin

6. What Happened??
President Kennedy issued a quarantine (blockade) with UN support to prevent more missiles from getting to Cuba.
President Kennedy announced to the American public that the threat of nuclear war was upon us with missiles in Cuba.
A stand off occurred between U.S. and Soviet ships before Soviet ships turned back.
On the 12th day, American pilot, Rudolf Andersen, was shot down during an unarmed reconnaissance flight over Cuba.

8. Why Did This Happen?? The Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba:
to boost the Soviet Union's power, threatening the U.S. with nuclear attack from the Caribbean.
(2) to bolster the Soviet Union's bargaining position in its attempts to force West Berlin to join East Germany.
The U.S. would not allow a Soviet threat so close to home, initiating a stand off with the Soviet Union to remove the missiles from Cuba.

9. What Was the Outcome??
A secret line of communication was opened between the United States and the Soviet Union.
U.S. agreed to secretly remove their long-range missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviet Union removing their missiles from Cuba.
The U.S. promised to never invade Cuba.