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Cuba in the Cold War
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Overthrow!
Batista was a military dictator with a reputation for corruption and harsh treatment of his enemies. He had taken over the Cuban government in a coup in 1952. -
RELEASE!!!
By 1956, Castro had been released and sent to Mexico. There, he resumed his revolutionary effort with a group of about 80 followers. They returned to Cuba, in December 1956, in an invasion that they hoped would lead to a swift victory. -
Fleeing!
On January 1, 1959, General Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba, and Castro’s group took control of the nation. -
Against Castro
When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, on November 8, he was presented with a decision. Under the Eisenhower administration, the CIA had developed a plan to support an invasion of Cuba carried out by a group of Cuban refugees. -
Cut-Off
By 1961, all political and economic relations between the United States and Cuba had ended. -
Bay of Pigs
On April 17, 1961, the CIA-backed force of 1,400 Cuban refugees landed at the swampy Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
By October 15, 1962, the administration knew with certainty that Cuba had the missiles and the launching capacity to attack the United States. However, it was unknown if or when an attack might occur. -
Agreement!
On October 28, a settlement was reached, Nikita Khrushchev agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba and to return the missiles already in Cuba to the Soviet Union.
