Castro's Role In The Cuban Missile Crisis Of 1962

Section A: Plan of Investigation Between 16 October and 20 October 1968, the United States was involved in a confrontation with the Soviet Union over the deployment of missiles in Cuba that became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This investigation will examine the significance of Fidel Castro’s role during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. This will be done by assessing the causes and results of his actions in the events that took place leading up to the Missile Crisis, including the Bay of Pigs, Operation Mongoose, and the shooting of the American U-2 plane, as well as examining Castro’s role in ending the Crisis. Castro’s significance will be evaluated by examining sources such as oral history, interpretations of historians, and memoirs—specifically

President Kennedy’s television broadcast marked the official commencement of the Crisis on 22 October 1962 and served as an announcement of the intention of surveilling Cuba (Kennedy, 43). This announcement only generated fear in the United States by suggesting a possible attack by Castro on the U.S. (Stern, 131). The United States began surveilling what were considered “offensive missile sites” in Cuba, which they believed were intended for nuclear attacks against the Western Hemisphere. (Gribkov, 102). Kennedy also called for naval blockade of Cuba, convinced that it was the “lease provocative way to gauge Soviet intentions,” (Stern, 45) while trying to come to an agreement with Khrushchev to remove the

Despite having initial suspicions of the shooting being an order from Castro, the Soviet Union and the United States later discovered that although Castro had ordered a Cuban solider to shoot the plane, it was a Soviet soldier who had done it (Mikoyan, 67). Another issue that arose was a letter written by Castro, which he wrote to Khrushchev (Bonsal, 102), requesting for the Soviet Union to launch a nuclear attack against the United States. Khrushchev admired Castro, which was why he felt confident in giving Castro the power over the missiles (Gribkov, 182), but his constant demands diminished Castro’s reputation in the eyes of Khrushchev, who later stated he was “young and hotheaded, ” as well as “inexperienced” (The Mikoyan-Castro Talks).

The Resolution of the