Teh 1960s ~ Lesson 2 The Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuba is an island nation about 90 miles away from the United States. After a revolution in Cuba which took place from 1949-1959 a new leader, Fidel Castro, had taken over. Castro had close ties with the Russian Communists.
Many Cubans came to the United States after the revolution, so the American government was anticipating that there could be trouble between the two nations. President Eisenhower gave $13.1 million to the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) to train these exiles in guerrilla warfare. The original plan was to sneak the trained men back into Cuba to fight Castro. When President Kennedy was elected in 1960, he agreed with the plan.
In a new plan, the United States decided to help the exiles invade Cuba. On April 15, 1961, eight CIA B-26 bombers attacked Cuban air fields. On April 17, 1500 soldiers landed at the Bay of Pigs. They hoped the Cuban people would join them in the rebellion. Before the troops could be unloaded, the Cuban planes that were not damaged in the first attack, sank the invader's ships. The invaders were soon surrounded by a large force and were running out of ammunition. They were forced to retreat. Most were captured and put into prison.
In 1962, Soviet experts were building missile bases in Cuba. The United States could not allow this to happen. Kennedy ordered the U.S. Navy to stop all ships going to Cuba. Any ships carrying missiles would not be allowed to continue. When three Soviet ships looked like they would not stop, the United States took action.
The U.S.S.R. and the United States worked out an agreement. The Soviets would take their missiles out of Cuba and the United States would take their missiles out of Turkey.