Cuban Missile crisis
War conflict between the Soviet Union, the United States and Cuba. In this article we will make you aware How did the Cuban missile crisis end?
The missile crisis includes a military conflict, which occurred in October 1962, in which the Soviet Union , the United States and Cuba were the protagonists .
The missile crisis is considered one of the worst crises in history, during which the United States experienced a type 2 defense condition and Cuba, for its part, came very close to engaging in a nuclear war.
This process took place after President Kennedy‘s failure to invade Cuba. The United States had sent a CIA commission to carry out the mission, but Fidel Castro’s army arrested them in just 72 hours.
Due to the failure to invade Cuba, the United States implemented a more direct invasion plan, the “mongoose operation.” This plan was detected by the Soviet Union, which immediately notified Cuba.
Taking advantage of the situation, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, proposed to Cuba to install medium-range missiles as a preventive measure, which caused both countries to deploy their entire military arsenal to prevent an attack, setting up a tense situation.
By the end of 1962 , after the Soviet Union and Cuba managed to shoot down a US spy plane, Khrushchev proposed to Kennedy the dismantling of the Soviet missile bases, in exchange for the United States ensuring not to invade Cuban territory . This is how the missile crisis ended.
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Causes and consequences
Causes
The main causes of the missile crisis were the following:
- The repeated attempts to overthrow the government of Cuba by the United States .
- The historical rivalries and threats between the United States and the Soviet Union along with Cuba.
- The economic embargo that the United States imposed on the government of Havana.
- The different policies and ideologies defended by the countries involved (capitalism and communism).
Consequences
The main consequences of the missile crisis were as follows:
- Origin of the so-called hotline , a secret line that put the United States and the Soviet Union in direct communication so that they could discuss their positions and, in turn, reach diplomatic agreements quickly and secretly.
- Death of the pilot who was driving the downed American plane.
- Increase in political and ideological conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union .
- The commitment that the United States would not invade Cuba , which it has not done again to this day.
- To offset the threat from the Soviet Union, the United States installed nuclear missiles in Turkey, which were withdrawn after both nations agreed to end this crisis.
Characters
The following are the protagonists with the greatest implication during the missile crisis:
- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) : President of the United States, one of the main drivers of the missile crisis. He was the one who, defending the ideals of capitalism, carried out negotiations with the Soviet Union.
- Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971) : commander and head of the Soviet Union, defender of communist ideas and of Cuba in this political conflict. He also served as a leader during part of the Cold War .
- Fidel Castro (1926-2016) : Cuban lawyer, military man, politician, and revolutionary who implemented communism in Cuba and was president during the missile crisis.
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The missile crisis in Cuba ends
The Cuban missile crisis was the gravest confrontation between the two world superpowers at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union.
After the overthrow of the Fulgencio Batisa dictatorship and the triumph of the revolution, Cuba became an appreciated target for the Soviet Union, which saw in the country the perfect location to establish a base of military operations. This decision aggravated the relations between the two superpowers to the point of having been able to unleash a third world war.
The new Cuban regime had very early evolved towards communism and the political and economic orbit of the Soviet Union, due in part to hostility from the United States, which in 1961 had decreed the economic blockade of the island.
The Soviet Union saw an important strategic point on the island of Cuba, since from there it could promote new revolutions in American countries and also, thanks to its proximity to the Florida military base, it posed a real threat to the United States. In this way, it would equalize the threat posed to them by the US missiles stationed in Turkey.
The Soviet Union armed the island with missile bases. The frustrated attempt to prevent it by the United States in the Bay of Pigs operation made it easier for the Soviet Union to continue its strategic plan.
The presence of missiles in Cuba was denied by the Soviet Union until 1962, when a US spy plane photographed the bases installed in Cuba and the CIA informed President Kennedy of their existence. Kennedy had the island surrounded with ships and warplanes to block it. Days later, a US spy plane was shot down by a SAM projectile, further straining relations between the two powers.
Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, decided to propose to Kennedy a deal that consisted of dismantling the missile bases in Cuba in exchange for the United States not supporting or carrying out an invasion of the island and would also have to dismantle the US missile bases in East Turkey. The deal was accepted by Kennedy on the condition that it did not come to light until six months later.
In return, the US president demanded that the Soviet Union quickly withdraw its atomic weapons from the island, which was declared in defensive quarantine.
The rapid resolution of the crisis showed the great importance of dialogue between the two superpowers; at that time the “hotline” was created, a direct line between the White House and the Kremlin, in order to speed up talks between the two states in times of crisis.
If the Soviet ships had tried to force the US naval blockade, the armed conflict between the two superpowers would have broken out.
For the Government of Cuba, the agreement was frustrating, since its conditions for the withdrawal of rockets were not taken into account, nor was Fidel Castro included as a signatory to the pact. Within the Cuban exile in the United States, the pact between the two superpowers was not well received either, as it was interpreted as the official surrender of Cuba to Soviet imperialism.
The missile crisis produced a great psychosis among the American population, who thought they would be bombarded with atomic weapons if a quick agreement was not reached.
