U.S.-Cuba Relations

1900-1981

Review U.S.-Cuba Relations

• 1820: “the United States ought, at the first possible opportunity, take Cuba." Thomas Jefferson

• 1898: “Remember the Maine (?)” Spanish-American War, Spain leaves Cuba

• 1901: Platt Amendment-stipulated that the U.S. could intervene in Cuban political, economic and military affairs

• 1912: U.S. Marines land to put down anti-U.S. insurgents• 1926: U.S. companies own 60% of Cuba’s sugar crop• 1933: Good Neighbor U.S. aids Cuban war vets in

overthrow of Gerardo Machado (bad dictator)

Batista Years• Fulgencio Batista becomes de facto

leader and President of Cuba for two terms (1940-1944 and 1952-1959)

• 1952 second term as President was initiated by a military coup planned in Florida,

• President Truman quickly recognized Batista's return to power by providing military and economic aid

• Batista rule was marked by corruption and ties with U.S. mafia bosses

Revolucion• July 26th, 1953: Fidel Castro and 160 rebels are defeated in their attack on the

Moncada army barracks • Fidel and brother Raul are arrested and sentenced to 15 yrs. prison, only to be

released in 1955.• Castro bros. meet Ernesto “Che” Guevara in Mexico, organize the 26 th July Movement,

and launch another attack in 1958.• Castro’s revolutionary army retreats to Sierra Maestra & builds peasant support for the

revolution.• Eisenhower cuts ties with Batista and embargoes arms shipments to Cuban

government (Why?)

Post-Revolution 1959-1960• Castro begins to purge the

military and police of Batista loyalists

• While visiting the U.S., Castro says "I know the world thinks of us, we are Communists, and of course I have said very clear that we are not Communists; very clear."

• Eisenhower officially recognizes Castro’s post-revolution Cuban government

Revolutionary Laws• 1• 2• 3• 4• 5

Post-Revolution Period 1959-1960

• U.S. concerned by Cuban agrarian reforms including redistribution of land, tries to pressure Cuba economically by cutting sugar imports and oil exports

• March 1960, the Le Coubre explodes in Havana harbor.(sound familiar)

• March 1960: Eisenhower authorizes the CIA to recruit and train Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro.

• October 1960: U.S. imposes trade embargo. So, Cuba began to open trade relations with the Soviet Union.

• January 3, 1961: US withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government and closed the embassy in Havana

Bay of Pigs• Plans and training of Cuban exiles began with

Eisenhower and CIA Director Allen Dulles• JFK authorizes a continuation of invasion plan. Training

for Cuban exiles (Brigade 2506) took place in Alabama, Florida, and Guatemala.

• Members of the brigade talked, a lot. Cuban intelligence and KGB learned of the planned attack

• April 15 1961, the attack begins with aerial bombing of Cuban airstrips, planes painted like those of the Cuban Air Force

• Cuba appeals to the UN to halt “U.S.” air attack. U.S. Secretary to the UN declares Cuban defectors, not CIA, behind the attack

Bay of Pigs• April 17: 1,300 members of the 2506 Brigade (w/ CIA

agents) land at Playa Giron, Cuba• 2506 Brigade comes under heavy air attack by Cuban

Air Force• April 21 the invasion is crushed and over 1,200 of the

2506 Brigade (including CIA agents) are captured

Bay of Pigs• The invasion was a major embarrassment for the JFK

administration. CIA director Allen Dulles is forced to resign

• Castro released 1,100 prisoners in exchange for 50 million in food and medical aid (most of which was raised by private donation)

• August 1961 OAS conference, Che Guevara sends JFK a note reading – "Thanks for Playa Girón. Before the invasion, the

revolution was weak. Now it's stronger than ever." • Invasion increased Castro’s popularity in Cuba and Latin

America. Castro declares the revolution Marxist and turns to the USSR for economic and military aid.

Alliance for Progress• Foreign policy initiated by JFK in

1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between North and South America.

• The aid was intended to counter the perceived emerging communist threat from Cuba to U.S. interests and dominance in the region. – Let us once again awaken our

American revolution until it guides the struggles of people everywhere-not with an imperialism of force or fear but the rule of courage and freedom and hope for the future of man. ~ JFK

Alliance for Progress• Signed at an inter-American conference at Punta del

Este, Uruguay, in August 1961.– First, the plan called for Latin American countries to pledge

a capital investment of $80 billion over 10 years. The United States agreed to supply $20 billion within one decade.

– Second, Latin American delegates required the participating countries to draw up comprehensive plans for national development. Include infrastructure, formation of democratic government institutions.

– Third, tax codes had to be changed to demand "more from those who have most" and land reform was to be implemented

Alliance for Progress• U.S. business interest lobbied to reduce aid to countries

with businesses that directly competed with U.S. companies

• Between 1961-1963 the U.S. suspended economic and/or broke off diplomatic relations with several countries which had dictatorships, including Argentina, Peru, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, & Honduras. (only symbolic)

• By 1964, under LBJ, the program to discriminate against dictatorships ended.– Operation Brother Sam- 1964, US approves of Goulart coup in

Brazil. – Operation Power Pack- 1965, US sends 24,000 troop to

Dominican Republic to stop a left-wing uprising– Plan LASO- US plan (beginning in Colombia) to destroy

communist military and social organizations in Latin America

Alliance for Progress

• Nixon ends support for the Alliance (because it was JFKsprogram)

• Successes: modest growth in GDP across Latin America, increase in adult literacy and school enrollment.

• Failures: According to historian Peter Smith thirteen constitutional governments were replaced by military dictatorships. Most dictators refused to implement land reform.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis• The Cuban Missile

Crisis was a confrontation between the US, the USSR, and Cuba in early 1960s during the Cold War. – Russia, "Caribbean

Crisis", – Cuba "October Crisis"

• The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war

Causes• Soviet outrage over the US

deployment of MRBM in Turkey since 1961

• September: JFK and Congress warn USSR that US will deal harshly with any threats to national security

• Castro seeks Soviet military and economic relationship in response to:– US economic embargo, end

Cuban sugar imports and US oil export

– Bay of Pigs, Operation Mongoose

– Castro declares Cuba a socialist republic May 1961

A Brief Chronology• May, 1962: Khrushchev makes veiled references to a plot (How

would the U.S. feel to have missiles pointing at them, as they have missiles pointed at us?)

• September: JFK and Congress issue warnings to USSR that US will deal harshly with any threats to national security

• October 14: U2 recon. flight over Cuba spots sites installing nuclear missiles

• October 15: Presence of missiles is confirmed• October 16: President Kennedy notified• October 16-22: Secret deliberations on what should be done• October 22: Kennedy tells nation his plan for blockade and

quarantine• October 23: OAS endorses naval quarantine• October 24: Naval quarantine begins and successfully changes

course of many Soviet ships

Chronology, Continued• October 25: One Soviet ship

challenges naval quarantine; Kennedy lets it pass

• October 25: At the UN, Adlai Stevenson directly challenges the Soviet ambassador to admit to the existence of missiles, when the ambassador refuses, Stevenson reveals pictures of the missile sites

• October 26: Soviets raise possibility for a deal: if we withdraw missiles will US promise not to invade Cuba?

Chronology, Continued

• Kennedy tells Khrushchev that he will accept the proposal of the 26th, Kennedy tells his brother to tell the Soviet Ambassador that though the Turkey missiles would not be part of the bargain, they would be removed in time

• October 28: USSR agrees to withdraw missiles

• November 9: All missiles leave Cuba

• October 27: Soviets demand that Americans also withdraw missiles from Turkey; Major Anderson’s plane is missing over Cuba, presumably shot down; U.S. recon plane strays over Soviet airspace…high tensions

The Missiles: One Site

Soviet Decisions• Motivations

– Close the missile gap—Currently far behind U.S. in terms of number, and range, of missiles

• Verbal (“We will bury you”) threats no longer effective with overwhelming evidence of U.S. missile superiority

– Protect Cuba– Reciprocity: The U.S. has missiles pointing at us

(Turkey), let’s see how they feel if we pointed missiles from Cuba.

• Inability to use the missiles– If fired a missile, repercussions would be severe

Why Khrushchev Blinked• Effectiveness of U.S. naval

quarantine• Conventional inferiority in the

Caribbean (i.e. not enough Soviet troops to do battle with U.S.)

• No possible countermove• Overwhelming world support

for the U.S.• Got what he wanted

– U.S. pledges not to invade Cuba– U.S. missiles withdrawn from

Turkey

The U.S. Decision• In September Kennedy had

stated and Congress had passed a resolution stating that if the Soviet Union placed offensive weapons in Cuba we would not tolerate it.– Could U.S. then rely solely on

diplomacy?

• Determined in first 48 hours of crisis that the removal of missiles was the primary objective– This objective effectively ruled out

isolated diplomacy, and left two options…

The American Decision Option 1• Air Strike

– On October 17th, JFK stated that there would definitely be an air strike, at least against the missile sites, and perhaps against wider targets (Bundy 394)

– Reservations of some in ExComm, air strike may be using a sledgehammer to kill a fly.

– Later that day Sec. of Defense Robert McNamara suggests policy in between diplomacy and an air strike

The American Decision Option 2• Blockade/Quarantine

– Advocated early by McNamara and Robert Kennedy, blockade would not require shooting, but critics feared it would not remove the missiles and would allow Soviets time to complete what they already had in Cuba

– Douglas Dillon strengthened blockade argument by suggesting that it would only be a first step, that if Khrushchev did not remove the missiles to lift it, then more could be done (i.e. airstrikes)

– By Friday the 19th, the committee working on the blockade adapted it into a quarantine. Quarantine selectively stop selected shipments (ex. Missiles)

– Sunday Kennedy accepted their plan as the course of action

Could U.S. have acted differently?

• Could U.S. have used the crisis to remove Castro?– Our warnings all along had been against offensive

weapons so once that warning is tested if we use it to attack Castro are we sticking to our word?

• Could we have tried diplomacy before resorting to the quarantine?– If we didn’t keep secrecy, Khrushchev could have

proclaimed defiance, or denounced quarantine…then both countries would be in positions where they’re heading straight for each other and can’t just turn back

Castro’s Role• No real role in decision making

mainly U.S. and U.S.S.R.• Apparently out of touch with

the situation, convinced that a full U.S. invasion was imminent – Oct. 26: “Aggression

imminent/imperialists disregarding world opinion”

– Che promises nuclear annihilation of the U.S.

– Khrushchev plays along to some extent but it is clear he disagrees with Castro (“your suggestion would have started a thermonuclear world war”)

Outcome

CUBA to be Continued

Castro’s Foreign Policy

Castro’s Domestic Policy