Background To Cuba Flashcards
What happened in January 1959?
Group of revolutionaries toppled the pro-American government of Cuba (Cuban revolution)
Why was Eisenhower concerned about the Cuban revolution?
There were very close links betwen USA and Cuba:
. Americn businesses invested heavily in Cuba
. Much of Cuban land owned by Americans
. Cuba’s oil refineries were controlled by Americans
. USA was in important investor in Cuba’s main explrt, sugar
Who was Fidel Castro and what did he want?
Nationalist who didn’t want his country’s economy to be nded American control
What did Fidel Castro’s leadership in Cuba cause?
Tension between USA and Cuba which grew into a crisis threatening world peace
What were the 3 main areas of tension in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution?
. American government reluctantly recognised the new government but refused to provide economic aid to Cuba unless they followed the guidelines set out by the International Monetary Fund
. May 1959, Cuban government took over all land in Cuba owned by foreign nationals
. Castro had been appointing communists to his government when, in Feb 1960, Khrushchev agreed to buy Cuban sugar for Soviet economic aid. Also a secret clause saying Cuba would receive arms from Soviet Union
Why did US decode to take action to bring Cuba in line?
USA was concerned that a pro-Soviet regime was being established just 145km from US mainland
How did USA slowly break off from Cuba?
July 1960 - Eisenhower reduced amount of sugar USA would buy from Cuba
October 1960 - banned all trade with Cuba
January 1961 - USA broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba
What did Kennedy not want so close to communist territory?
Communist ally (Cuba)
What plan did Kennedy support?
Plan agreed by CIA and Eisenhower before he was elected. The CIA suggested that a group of Cuban exiles could be traiend to launch an invasion and overthrow Castro
Why was sending Cuban exiles a good idea?
Would make the attack look like a cuban counter-revolution so the USA could claim to have not been involved
What happened on 17th April 1961?
1400 Cuban exiles landed at the ‘Bay Of Pigs’ in Cuba
What did the USA hope would come from the bay of pigs?
Castro’s regime would be toppled and a mew US-friendly government would be in control of the island
How did the Bay Of Pigs fail?
. Volunteers had little military experience despite some training from CIA
. USA couldn’t send ground forces or air strikes to support the attack as they weren’t trying to seem involved
. Castro’s government knew about the plans and 20,000 soldiers were ready
. USA and exile army wrongly assumed Cubans would support them. Many ordinary Cubans felt happy with Castro
What did Castro show to journalists around the world?
Wrecked aeroplanes and other evidence of Cuban Victory. American involvement was undeniable and was a punlic humiliation for USA
How did the Bay Of Pigs make the USA look?
USA had previously accused Soviet Union of trying to build an empire in Eastern Europe. Now it seemed like the Americans were acting in the same way to restore American influence in an independent country (Cuba) by supporting the Bay Of Pigs
