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Fidel Castro takes control over Cuba
After Batista admitted defeat on 1st of January 1959, Castro and his group became the leaders of the post-revolution Cuba. However, it was not until July that Castro had officially assumed power over Cuba. -
Cuba declare they are communist
Under the guidance of Castro, Cuba makes public the news that they are under communist rule, therefore co-ordinating themselves with the Soviets and their policies. -
'Bay of Pigs'
The US put their support behind a group of Cuban rebels who had been exiled from the country, giving them the equipment and persuasion to invade Cuba. Above all else it was an attempt by US confidences to ignite an anti-Castro rebellion to hopefully overthrow the government, which ultimatey came undone. -
Castro and Khrushchev agree on having Soviet misslies held in Cuba
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro come to a secret agreement to allow Soviet missiles and their launchers to be held in Cuba. Khrushchev wanted this as it was a place to store his missiles and have a 'launching pad' to the USA. It also appealed to Castro as he believed the weapons would dter anybody from wanting to invade Cuba and therefore give his power more security. -
President Kennedy declares public warning against the introduction of offensice weapons in Cuba.
US confidences had noticed evidence of Soviet missiles being held in Cuba while on regular surveillance, As a result of this Kennedy declared that he wanted them removed from the area and was not in support of this 'threatening' behaviour. -
Kennedy orders naval 'quarantine' of Cuba imports/exports.
After finding that despite the public warning, Soviet missiles still remained in Cuba, Kennedy call for a naval quarantine of all boats travelling to and from Cuba. On the same day, kennedy sent an official letter to Khrushchev demanding them to dismantle the misslies and unarm themselves in Cuba. -
Khruschev refuses to remove the missiles from Cuba
Khrushchev is determined not to seem intimidated by the perceived aggression from the US, and for this reason stands his ground in the situation. -
Negotiations between Kennedy and Khrushchev begin to heat up
After Khrushchev labelled the naval quarantine as a 'blockade' and an act of aggression, and stated that Soviet cargo ships would continue to be sent to Cuba, Kennedy made it clear that he believed an attack on the Soviets was imminent and the only way to resolve it.However, after insisting on giving the diplomatic approach some more time, the situation did almost a complete backflip. Khrushchev sent a message labelling there was no intention to continue to lead down the path of a nuclear war. -
Negotiations continue
Khrushchev sends messages explaining that it was time to put an end to the situation and not travel down the path which would lead to a nuclear war. He proposed that he would remove the Soviet missiles from Cuba if Kennedy agreed to never invade Cuba. The following day he added to the agreement that it must also include the Jupiter missile being removed from Turkey (US missile), which Kennedy chose to gnore. It was a bold decision as Khruschev could have easily gone back on his side of the deal. -
Soviet missiles removed from Cuba
Under supervision from the United Nations, Soviet missiles were dismantled and therefore removed from Cuba. A statement was issued from Khruschev stating that it was in fact all finished, and it was now up to the US to hold their side of the agreement. -
Naval quarantine of Cuba ends
Despite knowing that the missiles had been removed from Cuba, the US wanted to be certain that they had not been tricked by the Soviets, and remained on high alert, until finally ending the paranoia on this date. -
US Jupiter missile is finally removed from Turkey.
Although Kennedy sshirked around the issue at the time, it was always his intention to remove this weapon and not use it for offensive reasons, and he was finally able to let down his largest defensive asset when he realised the situation had all died down. this was seen by many as the official ending of the Cuban missile crisis.