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Turkey agrees to place Jupiter Missiles
The location of the third and final Jupiter MRBM squadron was settled when the Government to Government agreement was signed with Turkey. -
Cuba and Soviet Union relations grow
Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies. -
Trade Restrictions against Cuba
In response to Cuba's alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy widened the scope of the trade restrictions by Executive Order. -
Bay of Pigs is a failure
Backed by the U.S. a group of Cuban exiles invades Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to trigger an anti-Castro rebellion. The invasion fails and more than a thousand Cuban rebels are captured by Castro's forces. The event accelerated a rapid deterioration in Cuban-American relations -
Missiles in Cuba
A U-2 reconnaissance aircraft reveals several SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba. -
Crisis Begins
President Kennedy convenes his Executive Committee to consider America's options. -
USSR Denies Missiles
President Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrie Gromyko and advises him that America will not tolerate Soviet missiles in Cuba. Gromyko denies the presence of any Soviet weaponry in Cuba. -
Military Options?
President Kennedy meets with the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They discuss military options. -
Returns to Washington
President Kennedy returns to Washington to discuss the discovery of additional Soviet missiles in Cuba. -
Kennedy Addresses America
President Kennedy addresses the American public and announces his plan to implement a naval blockade of Cuba. U.S. military alert is set at DEFCON 3 and Castro mobilizes all of Cuba's military forces. -
Action
The OAS (Organization of American States) supports the decision to quarantine Cuba. Reconnaissance photos reveal that Soviet missiles are ready for launch. -
Soviet Ship reachs Quarantine line
Soviet ships reach the quarantine line, but receive radio orders from Moscow to hold their positions. Consideration of civil defense options and planning for possible Soviet responses in Berlin. President Kennedy concludes that if we invade in the next ten days, the missile base crews in Cuba will likely fire at least some of the missiles at US targets. Detailed briefing on new reconnaissance photos from Cuba and discussion of the need to disperse planes at Florida bases in the event -
Communication
EX-COMM receives a letter from Khrushchev stating that the Soviets would remove their missiles if President Kennedy publicly guarantees the U.S. will not invade Cuba. The CIA reports that the construction of the missile sites is continuing and accelerating. RFK meets secretly with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin and agrees after a phone call to the president that the removal of US missiles from Turkey is negotiable as part of a comprehensive settlement. Khrushchev receives a cable from Castro -
U-2 Shot down and 2nd letter
While one U-2 spy plane accidentally flies into Russia, another is shot down over Cuba. EX-COMM receives a second letter from Khrushchev stating that, in addition to a public promise not to invade Cuba, the U.S. remove its missiles from Turkey. -
Crisis is over
The crisis is over. In a speech aired on Radio Moscow, Khrushchev announces the dismantling of Soviet missiles in Cuba and does not insist on his demands concerning the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.
