Cuba and its Importance

Cuba and its Importance

1. Causes

   • 1959 – The island of Cuba has been taken over by Communist rebels led by Fidel Castro.
     • In 1959 Cuba was not that important to the America. The previous leader of Cuba, General Batista, might have been pro-USA but he had also been a dictator who had been extremely unpopular.
       • 1960 - Castro’s new Communist government has taken over all American property located in Cuba. All American companies have been kicked out of the country. Cubans who are loyal to America or believe in capitalism are expelled from the country as well.
         • The loss of American companies on the island is not a huge problem. However, on the other hand Cuba’s economy depends heavily on America buying sugar from them.
           • 1960 – Cuban leader Fidel Castro asks Communist Russia to buy Cuban sugar. Russia also promises to sell oil to Cuba.
             • Cuba is only 90 miles away from the USA and was within its sphere of influence. The USA had not got involved when the Soviet’s put down the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 because they had respected that it was part of the USSR’s sphere of influence.
               • 1960 – The CIA offers you an invasion plan to kick Communism out of Cuba.
                 • : Both yourselves and the Russians have nuclear weapons. Angering Russia could have disastrous consequences. If any American troops are involved in an invasion then the Russians might see it as an act of war and might offer military support to Cuba.
                   • 1961 – Castro asks Khrushchev to help him defend Cuba in case of further attacks. Khrushchev agrees to start sending arms to Cuba. This could include nuclear arms as well as conventional arms.
                     • If the USSR put nuclear missiles on Cuba it will mean that they will be able to attack America without spending large amounts of money developing more ICBMs. If you remove missiles from Turkey it will mean that you face public humiliation and you lose your upper hand in the arms race.

2. What did the USA do? The dotted line shows what each response was to.

   • They waited to see what Castro did as new leader of Cuba.
     • President Eisenhower banned the import of Cuban sugar and stopped selling American goods such as oil to the Cubans.
       • President Kennedy asked the CIA to find a possible solution to the problem.
         • They decided to invade the Cuba using ex-Cuban exiles. The Cuban refugees were trained and equipped by the CIA. They invaded the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. The invasion was a disaster and was easily defeated by Castro and his supporters within two days.
           • They started sending U2 spy planes over Cuba on a regular basis. Kennedy warned the USSR that he would prevent them by ‘whatever means necessary’ from placing nuclear missiles on Cuba. The Russians said that they had no plans to do this anyway. However, on 14th October 1962, an American spy plane flew over Cuba and took amazingly detailed photographs of missile sites in Cuba.