The causes of the Cuban missile crisis 1962

The Cuban Revolution 1959
1. Since 1898 - Cuba had been under political and economic influence of USA
  1. By mid 1900s - USA owned much of Cuban economy
    1. From 1933 - Cuba ruled by Batista - ruthless military dictator
      1. Encouraged economic involvement with USA in return for US support of his brutal, corrupt and unpopular regime
        Jan 1959 - Batista overthrown by revolutionaries - led by Castro - Batista fled into exile
Growing US-Cuban tension 1959-1961
1. Initially - Castro seemed to be a liberal nationalist - and had no programme to nationalise US interests in Cuba
  1. However - relations soon deteriorated and Castro became increasingly dependent on the USSR
    1. Tensions between Cuba and US increased due to:
      1. Castro's meeting with US Vice-President Nixon in New York -April 59 - didn't go well - Nixon concluded that Castro was a communist
      2. Castro's imprisonment and execution of some of Batista's supporters was condemned by US
      3. Many Batista supporters fled to USA where they campaigned for a US backed invasion of Cuba - this hardened Castro's attitude
      4. Castro wanted to make Cuba independent of US influence - so he distributed land to poor peasants who had previously been exploited by Batista and US businesses
      5. US-owned oil companies in Cuba refused to refine the cheaper Soviet oil - Castro responded by nationalising the refineries
      6. Feb 1960 - Castro signed trade deal with USSR to nationalise US interests in Cuba that were worth over $1 billion
      7. July 60 - US imposed economic blockade on Cuba - thereby refusing to buy its sugar - USSR bought the crop and sent Castro petrol after the USA refused to ship supplies
      8. Early 1961 - Castro formally embraced communism
Bay of Pigs Invasion April 1961
1. 61 - Kennedy authorised CIA-backed invasion of Cuba
  1. Aim - spark popular revolt to overthrow Castro
    1. Some 1400 lightly-armed anti-Castro exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs
      1. They were quickly overwhelmed by the Cuban army and air force
        Failure was deep humiliation for Kennedy who could not conceal the USA's involvement
        Castro reacted by entering into a defensive agreement with the USSR - which brought Soviet weapons and military advisers to Cuba
        By early 62 - K had supplied Cuba with MiG jets and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs)
Operation Mongoose October 1961
1. 6 months after Bay of Pigs - CIA with Kennedy's support launched Operation Mongoose
  1. A secret programme designed to destablise the Cuban regime and topple Castro
    1. Jan-July 1962 - 60000 acts of sabotage - ranging from murder to arson - were carried out
      1. USA also held large scale military exercises in the Caribbean to increase pressure on Cuba and demonstrate US's armed might
        Both Castro and USSR expected USA to invade
Soviet nuclear weapons on Cuba 1962
1. Early september 1962 - USSR secretly started to install 24 medium range ballistic missile launchers and 16 longer range ones in Cuba
  1. Each launcher would hold 2 missiles - both containing a one megaton warheard
    1. Soviets also sent:
      1. 42 jet bombers
      2. 42 jet fighters
      3. 24 advanced SAMs
      4. 4 elite army regiments
      5. 2 tank battalions
      6. over 40,000 troops and other personnel
      7. Khrushchev described this build up as 'throwing a hedgehog down Uncle Sam's underpants'
2. Khrushchev's Precise motives for this aren't clear but probably include the following
  1. to defend Cuba from an expected US invasion
  2. to bargain for removal of US missiles in Turkey and Italy
  3. to further humiliate Kennedy after Bay of Pigs failure
  4. to put pressure on West to leave Berlin
  5. to achieve nuclear parity with USA by making US cities more vulnerable to attack

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The causes of the Cuban missile crisis 1962

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	Created by jacksearle almost 10 years ago