Fidel Castro:The Bay of Pigs Invasion &

Cuban Missile Crisis

Mr. Deal

Western World History

Fidel Castro• Castro took control of Cuba on January 1, 1959, when

dictator Fulgenico Batista fled Cuba • Relations between the U.S. and Cuba soon declined and in

1960, Castro took over U.S. oil refineries in Cuba• Castro referred to the US as “the most hated country in the

Americas”.

U.S. / Cuba Relations• Because Castro took over U.S. oil refineries in Cuba, the

U.S. stopped buying Cuban sugar and Castro responded by taking over all U.S. businesses in Cuba – JFK bans all trade with Cuba.

• What is this called?

Bay of Pigs Invasion

• President Kennedy, angered by Castro’s actions, authorized an attempt to overthrow the Cuban dictator in 1961

• The U.S. planned and funded a landing by armed Cuban exiles on southern Cuba

• On April 17th, about 1,500 exiles armed with U.S. weapons landed on the southern coast of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The exiles were hoping to find local support as they moved inland to Havana, but it became evident that they were not going to receive any support from citizens

Results of the invasion…

• The exiles were captured and 1,189 were tried and sentenced to 30 years in prison for treason

• After 20 months of negotiation with the U.S., Cuba released the exiles in exchange for $53 million in food & medicine

• The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion severely embarrassed the Kennedy administration and made Castro wary of future U.S. actions

Missiles in Cuba

• After the Bay of Pigs, Nikita Khrushchev offered to place nuclear missiles in Cuba and Castro agreed

• Castro was merely a pawn in the international chess match and Cuba was merely a playing field for Khrushchev

• Castro would have little effect on the outcome of the crisis and Cold War

Cuban Missile Crisis

• In October 1962, the World came very close to nuclear war• The Soviets installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off

the coast of the U.S.• Soviet Premier Khrushchev felt that JFK was a weak President,

but felt threatened by the U.S. missiles in Turkey, just 150 miles from the USSR

ORTSAC

• Castro permitted the weapons because he was convinced the U.S. was serious about invading Cuba

• In 1962, there was a mock invasion of a Caribbean island by the U.S. armed forces to overthrow a fictitious dictator whose name was Ortsac.

• Ortsac was actually Castro spelled backwards!!!

Thirteen Days…

• On Monday, October 15th, U-2 pilot Richard Heyser revealed SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba

• On October 16th, Kennedy was informed of the missiles. His 12 most important advisors, known as Ex-Comm, convened

• Most of them supported an air strike followed by an invasion. No matter what happened, most expected Khrushchev to retaliate

Oct. 17 to Oct. 20• Kennedy, in order to maintain

secrecy, followed his planned schedule of campaign trips to CT and the Midwest

• Another U-2 flight discovered SS-5 missiles, which could reach most of the U.S.

• On Sat., Oct. 20th, Robert Kennedy called JFK in Chicago and told him to come home to meet with Ex-Comm. JFK told the press that he had an “upper respiratory infection” and he returned to Washington

Sunday Oct. 21• Kennedy asked the Air Force if they could take

out the missiles, but they said there could be 10 to 20,000 casualties

• Kennedy then decided, with the advice of his brother, to set up a blockade around Cuba and told the press not to leak the information about the missiles in Cuba

Cuban Missile Cuban Missile Crisis (Part II)Crisis (Part II)

Monday October 22

• On Monday evening, President Kennedy gave a speech to the United States to inform the nation that missiles were in Cuba

Tuesday Oct. 23rd

• The Organization of American States (OAS) unanimously approved the U.S. decision to “quarantine” Cuba (a blockade was an act of war)

• By the end of the day, U.S. ships at the quarantine line were prepared to “disable” any ship that failed to stop at that line

Wed. October 24th

• On Oct. 24th, Soviet ships approached the quarantine line. Ex-Comm wondered if Khrushchev had enough time to instruct the ship captains

• Soviet ships stopped dead in the water after receiving a radio message from Moscow

• Dean Rusk (Secretary of State) – “We were eyeball to eyeball and the other guy just blinked”

Thursday October 25th• Military alert was raised to DEFCON 2, the highest

ever in U.S. history• The military could, at any moment’s notice, launch

an attack on Cuba or the USSR

Friday Oct. 26th

• The U.S. Navy searched the Soviet ship Marcula and cleared it to Cuba when they found only paper products

• Ex-Comm received a letter from Khrushchev in reply to Kennedy’s speech to the U.S. The Soviets would remove their missiles if Kennedy publicly guaranteed the U.S. would never invade Cuba

• Another U-2 flight showed the Soviets were trying to camouflage their missiles

Saturday October 27th

• This was the worst day of the crisis• A U-2 on a routine mission incorrectly navigated, went into Russia,

so he alerted U.S. fighters, which carried nuclear tipped missiles. This could have touched off war

• Another U-2, trying to get new pictures over Cuba, was shot down, but the orders did not come from Khrushchev. This was the only casualty of the crisis.

• Khrushchev sent a 2nd letter to JFK that raised the price for removing the missiles. He now wanted the U.S. to remove missiles from Turkey. Robert Kennedy said to ignore it and only respond to the 1st letter!

Sunday October 28th

• Khrushchev announced over Moscow radio that the Soviets would dismantle their nuclear missiles in Cuba

• He ruined his career by backing down, BUT he prevented nuclear disaster

Conclusion…

• Poor communication led to the Cuban Missile Crisis

• It took 7 days to reach a compromise because of no link between the U.S. and USSR

• They negotiated by TV, radio, and letters

• Realizing how close a war had been, both leaders established a “hot line” between the White House and the Kremlin so they could speak directly

• Khrushchev said that if the U.S. had attacked Cuba, the Soviets were ready to launch missiles