Page 13 - Social Science.docx

The Cuban Missile Crisis’ negative impact on Cuban-American relations–and by extension the Bay of Pigs’ negative impact on Cuban-American relations–is evident in Cuban foreign policy’s continued push to export revolution in the following years in South and Central America– led initially by revolutionary Che Guevara in the Congo and Bolivia–and America’s negative reaction in supporting state efforts to crush any revolutionary movements. A significant example of these opposing tensions is evident in the Colombian Conflict that began in the early 1960s in which the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–supported by Cuba with arms and later diplomatic support–attempted to overthrow the anti-communist Colombian government backed by the United States.17
The negative impact of President Kennedy’s 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion on US-Cuban relations–as seen in the strained economic interactions between the two nations with the introduction of a more harsh embargo and the pushing of Cuba closer to the USSR as evident in the Cuban Missile Crisis–set the standard for continuously deteriorating relations–both social and economic–in the following decades. Designed to end Cuba’s revolutionary government, Kennedy’s punitive actions only served to strengthen Castro’s resolve. Throughout the 1970’s while backing global revolutions, Castro continued to speak out about U.S.-Cuban relations. As the U.S.-Cuban relationship deteriorated, the USSR-Cuban relationship strengthened, providing the Soviets with a base for their activities that was uncomfortably close to the U.S. The USSR set up naval bases in
17 “Columbia and the United States: Mario Murillo,” Internet Archive. Seven Stories, January 1, 1970.; Tkacik,
Cold war
Michael. "Cuba and the
United States: Revolution, Nationalism and Enemies Next Door," History Behind the
Headlines:
The Origins of
Conflicts Worldwide, eds. Sonia G. Benson, Nancy Matuszak, and Meghan Appel
O'Meara, vol. 1 (Detroit,
MI: Gale, 2001).
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