The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 epitomized the Cold War as the two superpowers brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. In January 1959, after a two-year guerrilla campaign, Fidel Castro, a Marxist, aided by the charismatic Che Guevara, disposed of Cuba’s 30-year-old dictatorship. Khrushchev was delighted that a communist coup had taken place without Soviet encouragement (or bullying).
When Castro nationalized US assets in Cuba, the USA responded by placing a trade embargo. The Soviet Union came to Cuba’s rescue and the two nations bonded, Castro aligning Cuba to the Soviet cause. When they met at the UN in September 1960 Khrushchev and Castro embraced. The USA, alarmed by this communist presence in their backyard, resolved to have Castro removed from power. In April 1961 a US-backed band of Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs hoping to raise an counter-uprising against Castro. The invasion failed, Kennedy was heavily criticized, and internal support for Castro deepened as Cuba became firmly anti-American.
Kennedy with his secretary of defence, Robert McNamara, during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev decided to use his new ally. In retaliation for the USA aiming missiles at Russia from bases in Turkey, Khrushchev sought Castro’s permission to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to face the USA. Castro gave his support and in September 1962 the first installations were in place. Photographs from an US U-2 spy plane exposed the missile sites, sending Washington into a panic. Direct intervention, although favoured by the military and discussed in detail, was discarded for fear of escalating the crisis into war. Instead, Kennedy’s administration decided on a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent the arrival of further Soviet ships carrying missiles. The US army and its nuclear weapons were put on red alert and Kennedy addressed the nation on TV.
Khrushchev warned Kennedy against the blockade, threatening the use of submarines against US ships. If it came to nuclear war, Khrushchev warned: ‘We’ll all meet together in Hell.’ By the end of October the American public felt it was on the eve of Armageddon. After intense talks between Moscow and Washington, Khrushchev ordered the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles in return for the withdrawal of the US missiles in Turkey and a US pledge not to attempt an overthrow of Castro. Despite this latter condition, Castro was furious at what he saw as Khrushchev’s climbdown. However, the world at least had been saved from devastation.