Cuba in the Cold War Essay - 1821 Words

On April 17, 1961 one of the greatest foreign policy mistakes of the Cold War was made, the attempted invasion of the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. The failed invasion happened under the administration of John F. Kennedy and caused the deaths and imprisonment of over 1500 Cuban exiles fighting to over throw the rule of Fidel Castro. The aftermath caused much larger impacts towards United States foreign policy. The invasion made the United States look imperialistic to the rest of the world and allowed the Soviet Union to portray America as an aggressive and hostile country to its neighbors, which in turn allowed the Soviet Union to aid Cuba even more for future affairs. The Bay of Pigs also caused President Kennedy to distrust many of his advisers†¦show more content†¦The United States attempted to assassinate Castro eight times between 1960 and 1965. These attempts involved putting chemicals in his cigars to get him sick, poison pills, even using thallium salts to make his beard fall o ut. These attempts made relations with Castro even worse, he became even more anti-capitalist and resulted in his alliance with the USSR to strengthen. Only two months after Kennedy took office in 1961 the CIA, specifically Allen Dulles the CIA’s director, came to him with the plan to train hundreds of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and occupy the capitol Havana. This plan was already approved by Kennedy’s predecessor Eisenhower. The exiles had already been training in Florida in guerilla warfare for months and over thirteen million dollars had already been allocated for the mission. The plan according to a report by the CIA’s director, Allen Dulles, was to â€Å"bring about the replacement of the Castro regime with one more devoted to the true interests of the Cuban people and more acceptable to the U.S. in such a manner to avoid any appearance of U.S. intervention†. It was important at the time that the U.S would not be known behind any attacks on Cuba. On e of the main downfalls of the attack was the failure to execute the pre-invasion plans. The United States painted old B-26 Bombers in the colors of the Fuerza Aà ©rea Revolucionaria (FAR), the Cuban Air Force. Manned by eightShow MoreRelatedCuba And The Cold War1194 Words   |  5 Pagesasked is why some countries are democratic and others authoritarian. During the Cold War, the competition was between capitalism and communism. Since those days, Russia has decided to turn its economic system into a more capitalist structure. Their economy has begun to grow exponentially, which as a result expanded the middle class. The richer the citizens get, the more aware of their surroundings they became. Cuba is a world-renowned oppressive regime under the rule of the Castro family. They dismissedRead MoreA Cold War Relic : Should The United States Seek Tighten The Economic Grip On Cuba? If So900 Words   |  4 PagesA Cold War Relic Should the United States seek to tighten the economic grip on Cuba? If so, why? In looking at the situation with common sense and practicality, a continued economic grip on Cuba, and more importantly the Cuban people, is relatively useless without the cooperation from a large number of other countries. It makes even less sense when you consider that the United States trades with countries with similar political ideologies such as China and Vietnam, China now a part of the WorldRead MoreCuban Missile Impact On The World Of The Cold War902 Words   |  4 PagesCuban Missile War Is Cuban communism the beginning of the Cold War? Could the Cuban Missile Crisis end in the world devastation? According to freedictionary.com, nuclear war is â€Å"war in which nuclear weapons are used by both sides. As generally used, the term assumes major use of nuclear weapons by at least two opposing warring states.† The invasion of Cuba by United States caused by the alliances between Cuba and the Soviet Union brought conflict between those countries. The United State tried toRead MoreJohn F. Kennedy Gave the Order for the Bay of Pigs Invasion1100 Words   |  4 Pagesto invade Cuba and overthrow Castro, America was expecting a victory. The American population expected Cuba to be destroyed. They thought Cuba could not stand up to the United States. What they didn’t expect was that Cuba would put up a fight. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a deciding factor in the Cold War that gave Cuba and the Soviet Union strength, and decreased morale and confidence in the Ameri cans. The Bay of Pigs invasion took place during the Cold War, which was not an actual war, but it consistedRead MoreCuban Missile Crisis : A Ten Day Confrontation Between The United States And The Soviet Union 878 Words   |  4 PagesMissile Crisis Essay The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in October of 1962. The stand off was over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the Cold War ever came to a full out nuclear war. The event was broadcasted on television for the world to see causing a global panic, especially in America. John F. Kennedy announced that the U.S. would use a naval blockade to eliminate the Cuban threatRead MoreConceptions of the Cold War Essay1006 Words   |  5 Pagesterm Cold War? The term Cold War can be defined as the period of political impasse which existed between our country (U.S.A.) and U.S.S.R. from the early 1950s until the fall of Communism in the early 1980s. Words and phrases associated with Cold War include, race to arms, race to space, Bay of Pigs, and The Berlin Wall. Did you ever study the Cold War in school? If so, what are some aspects of the Cold War that you remember? Having been born in 1952, I lived during the Cold WarRead MoreU.s. Cuba Relations : A Discussion Of Constructivism And Realism1329 Words   |  6 PagesU.S. – Cuba Relations: A Discussion of Constructivism and Realism During the Cold War, relations between Cuba and the United States were icy. Cuba was allied with the USSR, America’s enemy, and was well within their sphere of influence. With events like the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis happening on their soil, Cuba was at the center of the Cold War. Between ideological differences and their alliance with Russia, Cuba became an enemy of America as well. It took the effortsRead MoreThe Significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay1686 Words   |  7 PagesIn order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis one must understand, the Cold war drama; the dangerous crisis; and its importance today. In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. â€Å"The term Cold War refers to the post-World war II global geostrategic, economic, and ideological competition between the East, led by theRead MoreCold War Influence in Latin America1616 Words   |  7 PagesCold War Influence in Latin America The United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th Century like a chess game, with the world as their chessboard and countries as pawns in their game. For the Russians, a critical part of the chessboard was Cuba and Latin America. The Russians believed that if they could align themselves with countries in the western hemisphere, America’s â€Å"backyard†, it would help the Soviet Union counter the strongRead MoreWhat Major Events in the Cold War Caused Fidel Castro to Side with the Soviet Union Super Power?805 Words   |  4 PagesWhat major events in the Cold War caused Fidel Castro to side with the Soviet Union Super Power? In the 1960’s the world was largely dominated by the Cold War which was a long period of tension and hostility that only occasionally broke out into open warfare. This conflict was caused by the rivalry of two superpowers - the United States and the Soviet Union and emerged after the Second World War. Both super powers had different ideologies - the United States was a capitalist democracy, whereas