1. US-Cuban Relations 1890s to the Present

2. 90 miles off the coast…

3. Spanish-American War, 1898  Spain accused of atrocities against Cubans  Yellow Journalism fans the flames  US invokes Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary  US wins war  Gains control of Cuba  Platt & Teller Amendments  Democratic government set up

4. Fulgencio Batista, 1952-1959  Former Chief of the Armed Forces  Batista institutes coup d'état  Suspends Constitution  Corrupt & repressive dictator…  Cuba becomes resort for US rich & famous  Casinos, Nightclubs, tropical beaches  US organized crime hot-spot  Cuba has super-rich and the very poor  Political problems grow…

5. Fidel Castro, 1958-2008  Communist Revolutionary  Nationalized foreign holdings  Instituted literacy program  Allied with USSR & Red China  Executed, imprisoned opponents  Hundreds of thousands flee to US  US response:  1960, End trade  1961, Cut off diplomatic ties Castro and members of the East German Politburo, 1972

6. Bay of Pigs, April 1961  JFK needs to looks strong  Young, inexperienced  CIA plan  1,400 Cuban exiles trained  Expected simultaneous uprising of the Cuban people  FIASCO  JFK takes full responsibility  Invasion pushes Castro closer to the USSR

7. Operation Mongoose  New CIA sponsored operations  Sabotage and assassination attempts  Burned cane fields, blew up factories & power plants  Lace cigar w/poison, explode giant clamshells where he snorkeled  Castro/Khrushchev believe US will invade again  Need to strengthen Cuba’s defenses  USSR supports Cuba  Supplies weapons, officers & technicians

8. The Missiles of October, 1962  US spy planes discover USSR secretly building installations for 40 nukes  US demands removal  Quarantine  Soviets warn it could lead to WWIII  JFK moves to get international backing  OAS votes unanimously to support US

9. 13 Days: A Timeline  10/14 US spy planes discover nuke silos  10/16 JFK gathers Exec committee  10/20 JFK decides on blockade  10/22 JFK announces blockade on TV  10/24 Quarantine goes into effect; US on DEFCON 2  10/26-27 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev & President John Kennedy exchange telegrams…  WHY DID THE USSR REMOVE ITS MISSILE SILOS AND NOT PUT NUKES IN CUBA?