Since 1959 the socialists led by Fiedel Castro are ruling the Republic of Cuba. Cuba maintained a pro-Soviet policy in the sixties. As a result its relations with US remained strained. In 1962 Soviet missiles were detected in Cuba. Consequently US forced USSR to withdraw her missiles by engineering a naval blockade of Cuba.

Geographical Location of Cuba: The Republic of Cuba is located in the Caribbean Sea off the south Coast of Florida. It consists of two main islands i.e. Cuba and Isla de Pinos, together with 1500 small islands. Cuba is surrounded by Bahamas and US towards north, Mexico to west, Jamaica to south and Haiti to east. Cuba covers an area of 42804 square miles. It has a population of 10,951,334, which mostly consists of Mulatto 51%, white 37% and black 11%. Cuba has a 2500-mile long coastline. On the main island of Cuba fertile plains rise to mountains in center and South-East and there are some lower hills in the North-West. The economy of Cuba depends upon oil, food and tobacco processing and sugar. Havana is the capital of the country.

Historical Background: Cuba remained hidden from the civilized world till Columbus discovered it in 1492 A.D. Later on, it remained under the control of Spain, Great Britain and US. It became a republic in 1901. In 1940 Batiste became President of Cuba and established a dictatorship, which grew increasingly corrupt and despotic. As a result Fiedel Castro started a guerilla war against Batiste regime. After failing in 1953, Castro succeeded in over-throwing Batiste government in 1959. Castro established a socialist regime and launched sweeping economic and social reforms in the country. He nationalized banks, cattle and tobacco lands and introduced a system of cooperative farming. However he did not restore civil liberties to the people and threw his opponents in the jail. Castro showed ideological leanings towards the Soviet Union and developed close relations with the socialist countries. Socialistic proclivities of Castro resulted in tension between USA and Cuba. In 1961 an invasion of Cuban exiles with US support was defeated at the Bay of Pigs.

Cuban Missile Crisis: American involvement in the unsuccessful 1961 coup against Castro regime pushed Cuba closer to USSR. The Cuban government's riposte was more effective than had been anticipated and after forty-eight hours all was over. Castro imprisoned several thousands of his fellow citizens, thus seizing the opportunity to silence, demoralize and in some cases extinguish his opponents. On the other hand the Soviet Union felt satisfied over these developments and decided to exploit the situation to her full advantage. Thus Khrushchev the Soviet premier planned to convert Cuba into a Russian missile base against US. Consequently, sophisticated Soviet missiles were deployed on Cuban territory. Fiedel Castro was given the impression that these missiles were meant for the defense of Cuba. By ensuring her military presence in Cuba, USSR wanted to obtain a foothold in Latin America with all its unpredictable revolutionary possibilities and a base within 160 km of the United States to offset the bases with which its enemies ringed her. The missile crisis started in October 1962 when the US reconnaissance aircraft detected Russian missiles on Cuban soil: This discovery alarmed US and sent a wave of anxiety and concern throughout the free world. President Kennedy announced on October 22, 1962 that Russian offensive missile sites in Cuba had been discovered and declared that the ships carrying offensive weapons to Cuba would be subjected to a naval blockade. The OAS also approved the deployment of force by the United States against the Russian ships. Direct military confrontation between US and USSR brought the world almost on the brink of a nuclear war. An excerpt from a popular resource highlights the gravity of situation (http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/):
The closest the world has come to nuclear war was the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. The Soviets had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States. U.S. armed forces were at their highest state of readiness. Soviet field commanders in Cuba were authorized to use tactical nuclear weapons if invaded by the U.S. The fate of millions literally hinged upon the ability of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a compromise.1

Bibliography

1. Fourteen Days in October: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on July 09, 2001
http://library.thinkquest.org/11046/

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