Transcript U.S. – Cuba Relations

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 26th 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 postrevolution Cuban government
Revolutionary Laws
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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 everywherenot 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 JFKs
program)
• 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
• 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
• 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
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