Cuban Revolution & Missile Crisis: US-Soviet Tensions

From the Revolution to the Missile Crisis

The United States exerted great influence on Latin America, keeping the region north of the giant. However, in 1959, Cuba became the major exception to this rule. After a long right-wing dictatorship under the leadership of Fulgencio Batista, leftist guerrillas led by Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara led a revolution that ended the ruling government, replacing it with a socialist one led by Castro himself.

The Rise of a Socialist Cuba

The new leftist government enacted an agrarian reform, which mainly affected the sugar industry, whose largest percentage was in American hands. Castro also banned the establishment of plantations controlled by non-Cubans and diminished support for sugar production for food crops. In 1960, the Cuban government nationalized all American companies on the island, to which Washington responded by imposing a trade embargo.

A Threat to Western Interests

The new regime was seen as a threat to Western interests, particularly American ones. As well as affecting U.S. companies, it could mean the first revolutionary step of escalation that could cover all of Latin America. Despite attempts by the country's north to overthrow Castro, this was far from giving in to their intentions. By contrast, in 1961 an anti-Castro Cuban exile group and the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion, whereupon Castro's reaction was strong. In addition to repelling the invaders, Castro decided to consolidate his regime by establishing closer ties with the Soviet Union, which supplied arms to the island and technical assistance.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

However, it was in 1962 when the most serious conflict between Cuba and its northern neighbor unleashed. That year, U.S. spy planes detected, through photographs, installations of Russian nuclear missiles on Cuban soil.

A Standoff at Sea

Relations soured immediately. The U.S. president, John F. Kennedy, responded by ordering a naval blockade of the island to prevent the arrival of new military supplies from the Soviet Union. In turn, this nation threatened to invade Cuba if the missiles were not withdrawn soon.

The Brink of Nuclear War

Again, the risk of direct confrontation between the superpowers and, therefore, of a nuclear confrontation, terrorized the U.S. and the Soviets and caused alarm in the world. Finally, Nikita Khrushchev ordered the withdrawal of missiles from the island in exchange for Kennedy doing the same with the U.S. nuclear missiles installed in Turkey, which were a constant threat to the Soviet bloc.

The Hotline Agreement

The danger of nuclear war led the leaders of both superpowers to improve communication mechanisms to facilitate contact between them and avoid any inconvenience that may result in an unwanted decision. This led to the creation of the so-called hotline, a term used to describe the new form of direct and prompt communication between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.