conflict with cuba
DESCRIPTION
Overview of the events surrounding Cuba from the Cuban Revolution to the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile CrisisTRANSCRIPT
Would you support a dictator with ties to organized crime, who oppresses civil rights for poor people, and who ruthlessly uses his secret police force to keep power?
Would you support a revolutionary who after turning down a professional baseball contract with the New York Yankees wants to free his people from the dictator?
Cuba was a colony of Spain.Cuba became independent after the
Spanish-American War in 1898.After their independence, Cuba was ruled
by dictators, who were supported by the U.S. because of the U.S. business interests in Cuba.
Many Cubans hated the dictators and the poor conditions that existed in Cuba.
Fidel Castro organized a revolution against the Cuban dictators.
For almost 10 years, Castro and his revolutionary forces lived and fought against the dictator Batista from the jungles of Cuba.
On New Years Eve of 1958, Castro’s forces attacked Havana and forced Batista to leave Cuba.
Castro and his supporters entered Havana on New Years Day and took over Cuba.
Twenty-two Cuban exiles arrested for plotting the assassination of President Fulgencio Batista are shown in front of a government office in Mexico City June 26, 1956.
Fidel Castro, prominent revolutionary, is standing and indicated (arrow), and seated second from left is Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro speaks to supporters Jan. 8, 1959 at the Batista military base "Columbia," now known as Ciudad Libertad.
People burn tables and roulette wheels outside the Plaza Hotel casino in Old Havana, Cuba in Jan. 1959 shortly after revolutionary leader Fidel Castro gained power. On Jan. 1, 1959, Dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba and Castro's rebels took power.
The new government, which was inexperienced, began reshaping Cuba politically and economically.
They chose a president who Castro kept a firm control over.
As Premier, Castro controlled all aspects of the new government.
He gave the lower economic classes equality and social justice through educational and economic reform.
Cuba was modeled on other Communist nations, which he felt would benefit the masses of the poor Cuban population.
Conflict with the United States came very soon.
Castro “nationalized” (took possession) hundreds of millions of dollars of American-owned properties and companies.
An angry U.S. government responded by declaring a total trade embargo and diplomatic relations were ended by 1961
When Castro announces his support of Communism, the CIA sponsored the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban President Fidel Castro are surrounded by police security as they leave New York's Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York City, Sept. 20, 1960.
About 1,500 Cuban exiles, supported by the CIA, landed in Cuba in the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on April 17, 1961.
Wanted to spark a popular uprising and oust the Fidel Castro.
Most rebels were quickly captured or killed by the Cuban armed forces.
The Americans wanted to make it seem like a Cuban run invasion and so were not able to support them too much.
JFK is embarrassed, low point of presidency.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, lower right, sits inside a tank near Playa Giron, Cuba
Cuban exiles captured during the Bay of Pigs invasion walk past Cuban soldiers on April 19,1961
The unidentified prisoner in the foreground is followed by Jorge King, known as "El Chino," who was later executed by the Cuban government.
In December 1962 Cuba traded 1,113 captured rebels in exchange for food and medicine raised by private donations in the U.S.
A U2 spy plane spots various nuclear missile launch areas in Cuba
Placed there with help from the USSR
Missiles are capable of reaching Washington
JFK has his biggest crisis as president
Act incorrectly and nuclear war may start
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet ship Fizik Kurchatov heads to Cuba, with six missiles on deck. Ultimately, faced with President John F. Kennedy's firm stance and unwillingness to bargain, the Soviets ordered their ships, loaded with military equipment bound for Cuba, to change course, and they later agreed to withdraw the missiles.
The SS-4 "Sandal" is an intermediate range missile that can destroy targets up to 1000 km from its launch site. This liquid fuelled, relatively vulnerable and inaccurate missile, was first deployed in 1959. The SS-5 "Skean"
followed it in 1961 and has a similar sized warhead but double the range. Some 275 SS-4s remained until 1982 in the Soviet Union's arsenal along with a handful of SS-5s. Both of these missiles can carry a wide variety of warheads including chemical, nuclear, and conventional.
•U.S. president John F. Kennedy and the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) meet on October 29, 1962.
•The group was convened at the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis to determine how to respond to intelligence reports of the build-up of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Shown to the president's left are
Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
The Soviet freighter, Bonronec, sails an Easterly course away from Havana on Nov. 9, 1962.
The photo shows a close-up of shrouded cylindrical objects on the afterdeck, which appear to be mobile missile launchers.
Kennedy pressured Khrushchev to rid Cuba of its missiles or else nuclear war would result
Khrushchev agreed at the last moment
It was the closest the world has come to WWIII and total annihilation
With Soviet help Castro exported Revolution to Latin America in 60’s, 70’s, and 80s
Unfortunately, Che met his demise while battling police in Bolivia
Captured by the government, he was executed
Today he is still highly regarded in many Latin American Nations
Today an embargo is still in placeFidel is still alive but has left his brother in
charge after falling sickMany Cubans flee to the USA every day
illegally