Cuban Missile Crisis/ Bay of Pigs

By: Kyra and Brandon

Cuban Missile Sites

• September 1962 • American U2 spy plane

secretly photographed missile sites being built in Cuba

• More Soviet ships arrived in Cuba

• Soviets wanted to protect Fidel Castro from American invasion

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/14.jpg

• Kennedy wanted Cuba to remove the missiles• Kennedy tried to compromise with the Soviets by

saying that he would remove the missiles in Turkey and Italy if they would do the same in Cuba

• After the discovery of weapons being built in Cuba, Kennedy called for a meeting to decide what to do

• Secretary of Defense, Robert S McNamara created the Executive Committee of the National Security Council– Military leaders– Latin America experts– CIA reps.– Cabinet ministers– Kennedy’s personal friends

Options

• Do nothing• Try to negotiate• Invade Cuba

• Blockade Cuba• Air-strike the missile

bases• Use nuclear weapons

Final Decision

The Executive Committee of the National Security Council decided on a naval blockade on Cuba

Bay of Pigs

• The CIA had a plan to invade Cuba to overthrow dictator Fidel Castro and the communist government there

• John F. Kennedy approved this invasion • The CIA trained some Cuban exiles for this invasion • In 1960, President Eisenhower approved the CIA plan to

train these exiles and then camps were set up in Guatemala to train the exiles in guerilla tactics and assault landing procedures

• Word about this supposedly secret operation was spread in Miami with news coverage uncovering new events

• Soon, Castro found out about the training camps in Guatemala

• The landing point for this operation would be The Bay of Pigs, along the southern coast of Cuba

The Plan

• Originally planned were two air strikes followed by a 1,400-man surprise attack

• Paratroopers would hold off Cuban forces while other troops would land on the East Coast to create confusion

• The U.S. assumed that Cubans would unite alongside the invaders

What Actually Happened

• Eight bombing planes failed to destroy most of Castro’s air force

• The invaders landed under heavy fire and bad weather conditions

• Castro responded within 24 hours with even more troops and air force

• Kennedy ordered an “air-umbrella” • Fighter planes were supposed to protect the brigade’s B-

26 aircraft • The invasion failed completely and most Cuban exiles

were held captive while some escaped by the sea • More than 100 men were killed

Results

• The brigade was held captive by Cuba for 20 months

• During this time, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy pleaded with pharmaceuticals and baby food companies for help making a deal with Castro

• Castro finally agreed on 53 million dollars’ worth of baby food and drugs

• Relations between the United States and Cuba are still tense

End of Cuban Missile Crisis

• The U.S. promised to not invade Cuba after the missiles are removed

• Soviet leader, Khrushchev, agreed to honor the blockade and remove the missiles

Direct Consequences

• Both sides created a direct communications link known as the hot line

• The Test Ban Treaty was signed; it prohibited testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere

• U.S. removed missiles from Turkey and Italy • China claimed to be the new leader of the

communist’s movement • The U.S. helped to overthrow the communist’s

movement in Vietnam, Nicaragua and Grenada

Works Cited

17, On April. "The Bay of Pigs Invasion." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. Web. 24 May 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/days/bay_of_pigs.html>.

"Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum." Home - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 24 May 2010. <http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/Cuban+Missile+Crisis.htm>.

"Cuban Missile Crisis." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 25 May 2010. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm>.

"Cuban Missile Crisis: Timeline." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. Web. 24 May 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/days/timeline.html>.

Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J. United States History: Modern America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

"The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum." Home - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 25 May 2010. <http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/JFK+and+the+Bay+of+Pigs.htm>.