Major States 941
their positions on the morning of October 28. This action marked the end of the Berlin
Crisis of 1961.
MID#2219
Started in November 1961. See the narrative in the 260 German Federal Republic/265
German Democratic Republic dyad dispute list.
MID#3361
Started in December 1961. See the narrative in the 2 United States of America/816
Vietnam dyad dispute list.
MID#1353
Started in January 1962. See the narrative in the 812 Laos/816 Vietnam dyad dispute
list.
MID#61
Dispute Number: 61
Date(s): August 1, 1962 to December 12, 1962
Participants: 2 United States of America/365 Russia, 40 Cuba
Outcome (and Settlement): Yield by side B (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Tensions between the United States and Cuba were high after Castro
removed Batista and came to power in 1959. US policy sought the overthrow of the
Castro regime in Cuba, and in 1961 the United States supported a group of Cuban
exiles in the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion. In September 1962 the situation in
Cuba escalated.
On September 3, the Soviets announced that it would send arms and technical
experts to Cuba and help Cuba expand its steel production. Four days later Kennedy
requested activation of 150,000 reservists, and Congress approved the measure a week
later. On September 22, the Soviets reiterated that the weapons they sent to Cuba were
defensive only, and three days later Castro announced that Cuba would lease a port
to the Soviets for fishing. In early October the United States was examining ways to
end Cuban trade with the Western states. Castro then mobilized the Cuban forces in
mid-October.
On October 22, US President Kennedy gave a public address in which he stated the
United States had photographic evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba that were capable
of delivering nuclear weapons to much of the Americas; Kennedy announced a quar-
antine/blockade of Cuba to begin two days later. The Organization of American States
then passed a resolution calling for removal of Soviet weapons, and the UN Security
Council debated the dispute. The Soviet Union accused the United States of piracy
and flaunting international law in implementing a blockade of defensive weapons, and
the Security Council requested UN Secretary-General U Thant to mediate the dispute.