Causes of Tension Between Cuba and the United States Essay Example for Free

Causes of Tension Between Cuba and the get together States EssayOn January 9, 1959, following their successful overthrow of the oppressive Batista regime, a cast awayd of freedom fighters, anchored by Fidel Castro, marched through the Cuban capital city of Havana. Upon his arrival, Castro immediately seized control of the Cuban administration and declared himself the highest administrator of the island state of matter, Premier of Cuba. In April of 1959, Castro visited the bring together States in order to gain support for his policies in leading Cuba. The majority of Americans warfaremly embraced Castro, assuming that this charismatic leader would guide Cuba to democracy (Cuba). Some Americans remained cautious in judge Castro, however, mainly disturbed by his previously demonstrated socialist sympathies. In the following month, Americans were given reasons to begin anti-Castro as the Premier took hold American owned sugar plantations, Cubas multi-national companies, and the nations petroleum holdings (Cuba). By the end of 1959, the nation began to show signs of Communist inter-group communication. Communist affiliated groups took control of the nations phalanx, bureaucracy, and labor movement, and Soviet interest in the island increased.In February of 1960, Anastas Mikoyan, vice-prime minister of the Soviet Union, came to Cuba. . . . A major topic of the meeting was the Soviet Unions leveraging of Cuban sugar and the Cuban purchase of Russian oil (Franqui 66). Following the meeting, the Soviet Union entered into a trade agreement with the USSR, causing the United States to drastic aloney limit the import of Cuban sugar into the nation. In response, Cuba nationalized all remaining American properties and negotiated an spread out trade agreement and loans with the Soviets, causing the United States to break all diplomatic relations with the country (Cuba). originally the end of 1960, the USSR had begun sending military aid to the Cubans. (Cu ba)The U. S. politics was by now convinced that Cuba had become a Communist state (Dolan 92-93). The falling of Cuba into a Communist regime proved extremely important to the U. S., primarily due to Cubas proximity to the United States, only 90 miles. In addition, there were reports that the Soviet Union think to make a staging base out of Cuba for thecommunization of the other Latin-American countries and rumors that construction projects in spite of appearance Cuba appeared to be designed for launching missiles (Rivero 170). To stop the spread of Communism in the Western Hemisphere, Americans felt that the islands government had to be toppled (Dolan 93).Upon hearing from Cuban exiles that a great deal of unrest had been present on the island, capital of the United States saw the conviction as ripe for an invasion attempt (Rivero 183). The U.S. government put the Central science Agency in charge of plotting the attempt, along with souricers from the Pentagon. The goal of the CIA-planned attempt would be to mask American involvement in the coup, so that the United States could not encounter accusations of illegally endangering the sovereignty of an established foreign government (Dolan 93). The plan entailed using Cuban exiles to carry out an ascension, seemingly attempting to liberate their country.Following the proviso of the invasion, the CIA apply their Guatemalan bases in training 1,300 exiles (Dolan 93). bare-asss of the supposedly secret plan leaked to Castro, who accused Washington of planning the worst sort of intervention in the islands aff denudates and damned the United States for dropping the attitude of disinterest it had long professed in regard to Cuba (93). The Premier put the islands defense forces on alert and ordered them to educate and be ready for an attack. On March 29, 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave the CIA permission to proceed with the launch the Cuban invasion. Changes were made to the plan however, the most importan t beingness the ban of U.S. air support of the campaign, excluding air attacks on three Cuban air bases (Rivero 184). Along with the ban came the necessity of a simultaneous mass uprising by the Cuban people (184) without mass popular support, the invasion was doomed to chastening.Two eld prior to the invasion, B-26 bombers attacked three crucial Cuban air bases, San Antonio, Cubas main base, Camp Liberty in Havana, Castros main headquarters, and the military airport at Santiago de Cuba (Rivero 184). A second wave of B-26 strikes was planned as tumefy, but was called off by President Kennedy, who was suspected to have felt that strong U.S. participation would threaten a war with Russia (Dolan 95). The cancellation of the second group of air strikes left Castro with one-third of his airforce and the goal of destroying the entire air force unfulfilled.Two days after the air strikes took place, some 1,500 CIA-supported Cuban exiles landed near the bay of Pigs. The men were accom panied by old, unmarked American B-26 bombers that dropped leaflets urging the Cuban people to rise against Castro and join the attack force (Dolan 93). The invaders assumed that the leaflets would draw the widespread support of Cubans unhappy with their government. In the three days in which the people would supposedly aid in holding off Castros forces, the invaders were to set up a provisional government and appeal for American help. From there, the United States would recognize the provisional government and intervene in overthrowing the Castro regime (93).The CIA plan assumed excessively, mostly due to the optimism derived from the agencys previous successes in staging coups in Guatemala and Iran, and all of the invasion plans resulted in complete failure The expected assistance did not come from the islands dissidents. On being hit by Castros air force, the attackers asked that U.S. Navy jets be sent to help them. The planes, however, never appeared, due to the Kennedy-issued b an on U.S. air involvement (Dolan 95). After two days, Castros forces had thoroughly suppressed the attack, killing 150 of the men, and capturing approximately 1,200 of the attackers (95).According to the authors of Cuba and the United States Troubled Neighbors, Kennedy had never liked the idea (Dolan 95) of an American-sponsored invasion of Cuba, mostly due to his precept that it would undoubtedly fail. The plan had been created under the Eisenhower administration, and Kennedy had little input in its creation. Nevertheless, the President allowed the invasion to occur, and despite his ohmic resistance to the whole affair, he accepter full responsibility for its failure because he was in office at the time it was staged (95). While Kennedy had been assured that the plan he approved would be both secret and successful, he discovered too late that it was too large to remain secret and too small to gain ground (Wyden 310).Kennedy was greatly upset by the failure of the invasion, and h e held himself personally responsible, for both the lives of the men who died as well as for the 1,200 men whom his government had helped send to their imprisonment (qtd. in 310). Kennedy viewed the failure as the ultimatefailure of his career (310), and from the defeat, his prestige suffered a severe blow (Dolan 96). About a year and a half(a) later, however, he was to regain that lost prestige (96), in his impressive handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. kit and caboodle ConsultedCuba Exhibit History. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. 2001 .Dolan, Edward E., and Margaret M. Scariano. Cuba and the United States Troubled Neighbors. New York Franklin Watts, 1987.Franqui, Carlos. Family Portrait with Fidel. New York random House, 1984.Rivero, Nicholas. Castros Cuba An American Dilemma. New York Van Rees P, 1962.Sierra, J.A.. Timetable History of Cuba After the Revolution. 27 Aug. 2001 www.historyofcuba.com/history/timetbl4.htmWyden, Peter. Bay of Pigs The Untold Story. New Yo rk Simon, 1979.