JFK issued a naval blockade on Cuba to prevent the Soviets from bringing anymore armaments.
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Fidel Castro
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Bay of Pigs
- Cuba's alignment with The Soviets caused America to take action. JFK authorized an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro.
- Anti- Castro Cubans, trained, armed and transported by the CIA landed on Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961.
- The American air support failed to appear and the invasion fizzled. Castro captured or killed the entire invasion force.
- This led to a decline in U.S. prestige and may have encouraged the Soviets to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future invasion.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
- On 26 October 1962, America learned that Soviet technicians were assembling launch sites for medium-range missiles
- Soviet gov. took this step to protect the Castro gov., undermine U.S. credibility and gain more influence in Latin America
- The missiles were a huge threat to American national security and JFK delivered a public ultimatum to the Soviet leadership.
- He told them to withdraw the missiles and stop bringing more nuclear armaments and issued an air and naval blockade on Cuba. The confrontation lasted two weeks
- Soviets agreed to the demands but Khrushchev took a pledge from JFK saying that he wouldn't overthrow Castro's gov.
- This victory of America, showed the dangers of a bipolar world .
Analysis : The Soviet Union's alliance with Cuba most likely started due to its geography. Cuba is very close to America and since most Western countries are not communist, this was a great opportunity to influence the west to adopt its policies. Khrushchev was most likely trying to achieve the goals of the domino theory, which says that if one country became communist, its neighbors would follow.
Works Cited
Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters. N.p.: McGraw Hill, n.d. Print.
Fidel Castro. Digital image. Science-all.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
John F. Kennedy. Digital image. Gov.booktalk.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
Nikita Krushchev. Digital image. Nndb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Digital image. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Digital image. Youtube.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters. N.p.: McGraw Hill, n.d. Print.
Fidel Castro. Digital image. Science-all.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
John F. Kennedy. Digital image. Gov.booktalk.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
Nikita Krushchev. Digital image. Nndb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Digital image. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Digital image. Youtube.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.