6 Chapter 2
Narrative: Cuba held elections on November 1, 1920, but the results were inconclu-
sive. Both parties claimed victory and traded threats. This political crisis erupted amid
a backdrop of economic turmoil for Cuba, with higher levels of unemployment, higher
prices, and food shortages. By the end of the year, the US State Department no longer
believed Cuba’s election dispute could be solved peacefully. US President Woodrow
Wilson appointed General Enoch Crowder as special representative to Cuba, and, on
December 31, the US legation informed Cuban President Menocal of Crowder’s pend-
ing arrival and asked Menocal to arrange a meeting with Cuban leaders. The Cubans
protested that the Americans had not followed the usual diplomatic niceties, but the US
State Department implied a more forceful, military intervention if Menocal refused to
cooperate. The State Department then released a statement that Crowder was going to
Cuba to work with Menocal on solving Cuba’s crisis and assured Cuba’s ambassador
that there was not going to be an investigation of Menocal’s activities. On January 6,
1921, Crowder arrived in Havana aboard the US battleship Minnesota, constituting a
show of force.
MID#1677
Dispute Number: 1677
Date(s): August 1933 to January 24, 1934
Participants: 2 United States of America/40 Cuba
Outcome (and Settlement): Yield by side B (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Amid civil unrest in Cuba, the United States sent a number of warships to
put economic pressure on Cuba to keep the peace. The new Cuban government was
established with American approval in January of the following year, and the warships
withdrew over the course of the month.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from July 1933. End Date changed from Missing.
MID#246
Dispute Number: 246
Date(s): May 1960 to April 19, 1961
Participants: 365 Russia, 40 Cuba/2 United States of America
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution and the victory of the Communists in
taking control of the government, Cuba began to nationalize foreign industries in its
territory. This greatly upset the United States, and the American government began to
try and coerce Cuba to cooperate with its policies. On April 22, 1960, Fidel Castro, the
new premier of Cuba, accused the United States and its forces at Guantanamo Bay of
aiding counterrevolutionaries and of planning an invasion of Cuba. A Cuban attack on
a US submarine operating off the Cuban coast then occurred in May. Cuba asserted that
the submarine had violated Cuba’s territorial waters.
The Soviet Union entered the dispute on the side of Cuba on July 9, when Premier
Khrushchev threatened to retaliate with rockets should the United States intervene