In retaliation, the US stopped all aid to Cuba and all imports of Cuban sugar.
Castro asked the Soviet Union for help and started to build economic links. They became trading partners.
Castro became a communist.
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Causes: The Bay of Pigs incident 1961
April 1961 - the CIA trained, armed and transported 1,300 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
The invasion was supposed to look like a Cuban revolt
Kennedy was told the Cubans would support the revolt because they hated Castro
Castro knew of the invasion in advance and they were met by 20,000 of Castro's troops
The US-backed troops surrendered
Most Cubans didn't want Batista back because he had been corrupt
They failed and Kennedy was humiliated.
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Causes: Soviet missiles in Cuba
Castro saw Soviet missiles as a great way of keeping the USA from invading
October 1962 - American spy planes discovered suspected Soviet missile sites in Cuba.
America had missiles in Turkey, in range of the Soviet Union.
It was the start of a crisis that took the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust.
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Naval Blockade
Kennedy decides on a naval blockade to stop Soviet ships delivering nuclear missiles.
Khrushchev warned that the Soviet Union would see this as an act of war.
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Ending of the crisis
Secretly, America suggested that it would dismantle its missile bases in Turkey if the Soviets did the same in Cuba.
Khrushchev sent 2 telegrams. The first offered to dismantle the Cuban bases if Kennedy lifted the blockade and promised not to invade Cuba. The second demanded they dismantle the Turkish bases.
During negotiations, an American spy plane was shot down over Cuba.
Kennedy ignored the attack, and agreed publicly to the first telegram, and secretly to the second. The crisis was over.
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Short-term consequence
Communist Cuba survived, Kennedy gave assurance the USA would not invade
Soviet Union looked weak as the USA's removal of missiles from Turkey was unknown
Undermined Khruschev and Brezhnev replaced him in 1964
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Long-term consequences
The USA initiated a move to detente
Hotline Agreement created a direct communication link between Moscow and Washington
Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963) banned all nuclear weapons testing underground
Kennedy gave a speech about working with the USSR to focus on 'common interests' (1963)
The Soviet Union caught up in the arms race (1965) resulting in Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD
Outer Space Treaty (1967) limited deployment of nuclear weapons into space
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) prevented nuclear weapons being given to other countries
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