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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.
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In 1958, the United States stopped selling arms to Batista. On January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba, and Castro’s group took control of the nation.
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Beginning in March 1960, the CIA trained people who opposed Castro for the assault. The entire operation was to be highly secret, but the secret was poorly kept.
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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. A Cuban force of 20,000 easily overwhelmed the invaders, capturing about 1,100 men and imprisoning them.
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On October 22, President Kennedy issued a formal demand to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev that the missiles be removed from Cuba. Kennedy gave a televised speech announcing that the United States had indisputable evidence of offensive missiles in Cuba.
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On October 23, 1961, a poll showed that one-fifth of Americans believed World War III was coming soon.
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on October 28, a settlement was reached. Khrushchev agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba and to return the missiles already in Cuba to the Soviet Union. In addition, he agreed to dismantle the launching sites.
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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.
