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The Bay of Pigs Invasion & The Cuban Missile Crisis. ?Who?. John F Kennedy Fidel Castro Nikita Khrushchev. John F Kennedy. US president elected 1960 43 years old, Roman Catholic Significant events during his administration: Berlin wall built, Cuban Missile Crisis, Civil Rights Movement.
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?Who? • John F Kennedy • Fidel Castro • Nikita Khrushchev
John F Kennedy US president elected 1960 43 years old, Roman Catholic Significant events during his administration: Berlin wall built, Cuban Missile Crisis, Civil Rights Movement. Assassinated in 1963
Inauguration Speech “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.”
Tragedy in Dallas • JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963 on a visit to Texas. • Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the crime, and was assassinated shortly thereafter. • His shooting is still a source of disagreement among many,
Castro’s Takeover • 1956 to 1959 – Castro led a guerrilla coup of Cuba Dictator Fulgencio Batista • US suspicious, but Batista had been unpopular and corrupt • Ultimately, Castro declared Communism, welcomed USSR aid
Castro vs. the US • Castro nationalized 3 oil refineries owned by Americans and British firms • Took commercial farms and made them communes (US companies controlled 75% of crop land) • 10% of Cuban population went into exile and many settled in Miami, FL.
Nikita Khrushchev Russia leader from 1953 to 1964 Joined communist party in 1918 Denounced Stalin and his Methods. Started a degree of Cooperation with the US
CIA’s Secret Operation • Eisenhower gave CIA permission to secretly train hundreds of Cuban exiles • Plan to invade Cuba • JFK found out about plan 9 days later • Skeptical, but continued with plan
The Invasion • April 17, 1961 – 1,400 Cubans invaded island’s s. cost at Bahia de Cochinos (or Bay of Pigs)
The Invasion • Nothing went as planned • Air strike 2 days prior failed to knock out Cuban air force (CIA reported it had) • Small advanced group sent to distract Cuban forces never got there • Other unit landed only to face 20,000 Cuban forces, backed by Soviet tanks and jets
Result • Troops surrounded, some killed others taken as prisoners Cuban counter-revolutionaries, members of Assault Brigade 2506, after their capture at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, in April 1961
Result • Kennedy looked embarrassed, took blame • Negotiated for surviving commandos – paid $52 million in food and medical supplies • Kennedy said no more communist expansion in W. Hemisphere • Castro welcomed USSR aid.
The Cuban Missile Crisis Oct.16, 1962 photos reveal Soviets building missile sights in Cuba Options: negotiate with Khrushchev, invade Cuba, blockade Cuba, bomb missile sights
In 1962, American intelligence agencies photographed Soviet nuclear missile installations in Cuba.
The missiles at these Cuban sites threatened major cities in the United States.
Crisis Avoided • For 6 tense days Soviet ships headed towards Cuba. • The Navy blockaded Cuba so that no ship could get within 500 miles of it. • Fortunately, The Soviet ships halted suddenly to avoid confrontation with the US. • Khrushchev agreed to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for not invading Cuba (US nuclear missiles in Turkey?)
