Cuba - EVENTS 1959-61

Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro. Castro began appointing Communists to his government and signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union. This worried America. Castro announced that he was Communist. Castro then took over all America businesses and put them under government control. The USA stopped buying sugar from Cuba to try and bring Castro back. The USA broke off diplomatic relations and banned all trade with Cuba. The President of the USA, Kennedy, decided to support an invasion of Cuba by 'Cuban Exiles' who wanted a return to the days of Batista. They recieved weapons and military training from the American CIA. On the 17th April, 1400 Cuban exiles launched an attack on the coast of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was a disaster. Kennedy denied that America was involved, but Castro knew that it had been planned by the CIA. Krushchev publically announced that the USSR would provide weapons to Cuba. The Bay…