-
1959
Fidel Castro assumes power after the Cuban Revolution. -
1960
Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies -
1961
The U.S. terminates diplomatic and consular relation with Cuba. -
1961
President Kennedy pledges the U.S. will not intervene militarily to overthrow Castro -
1961
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. -
1962
Senator Kenneth Keating tells the Senate that there is evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba. Keating urges Kennedy to take action -
1962
Senator Kenneth Keating tells the Senate that there is evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba. Keating urges Kennedy to take action -
1962
Kennedy's Press Secretary announces that the President is canceling the remainder of his campaign trip because of an "upper respiratory infection."
Kennedy meets with his advisors and orders a defensive quarantine instituted as soon as possible. The full operation is reviewed and approved, and the President's television address is scheduled for the next evening. -
1962
Keating charges that six intermediate-range ballistic missile bases are being constructed in Cuba -
1962
Kennedy departs Washington for scheduled campaign speeches in Cleveland and the West Coast -
1962
Kennedy is told by General Maxwell Taylor that an air strike could not guarantee to destroy all Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Kennedy decides on a quarantine of Cuba for the time being.
Kennedy requests that the press not deny him the "element of surprise" or he warns, "I don't know what the Soviets will do."
Another U-2 flight that day reveals bombers and Migs being rapidly assembled and cruise missile sites being built on Cuba's northern shore. -
1962
Congressional leaders assemble at the White House for a meeting with Kennedy. They are shown the photographic evidence of the Soviet missile installations. The congressional leaders express support, but many advocate stronger action.
The President addresses the nation in a televised speech, announcing the presence of offensive missile sites in Cuba.
U.S. military forces go to DEFCON 3.
U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay is reinforced by Marines -
1962
Late in the evening, the President sends Robert Kennedy to the Soviet embassy to talk with Ambassador Dobrynin.
Kennedy receives a letter from Khrushchev in which Khrushchev comments that there is a, "serious threat to peace and security of peoples."
President decides to give Khrushchev more time and pulls the quarantine line back to 500 miles. -
1962
Kennedy sends a letter to Khrushchev laying the responsibility for the crisis on the Soviet Union.
EX-COMM discusses a proposal to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey in exchange for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles in Cuba. -
1962
Aleksandr Fomin, who was known to be the KGB station chief in Washington, requests a meeting with ABC News correspondent John Scali. Fomin proposes the dismantling of Soviet bases under U.N. supervision in exchange for a public pledge from the U.S. not to invade Cuba.
Khrushchev sends another letter to Kennedy proposing removing his missiles if Kennedy would publicly announce never to invade Cuba -
1962
Soviet ships en route to Cuba with questionable cargo either slow down or reverse their course except for one.
Military forces go to DEFCON 2 the highest ever in U.S. history. -
1962.
Krushchev announces on Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba.
