Among the more notable successes in this are were the Purple de-
cryptions of Japanese communications in the late 1930s and the
VENONA Operationagainst the Soviet spies in the United States
during the 1940s and 1950s.CUBA.Liberated from Spanish colonial occupation by American forces
during the Spanish-American War of 1898, Cuba has occupied a
special position in American foreign policy because of its location in
the Caribbean and proximity to the United States. Since Fidel Castro
came to power in 1959, successive presidents have attempted to use
American intelligence resources to influence developments in Cuba
through such methods as fomenting insurrection in the country and
trying to assassinateCastro himself. In addition, Cuba played an in-
famous role during the Cold War, as the country over which the two
superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—nearly
clashed with nuclear weapons. See alsoBAYOF PIGS INVASION;
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS; MONGOOSE (OPERATION).CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS.The Cuban Missile Crisis was a con-
frontation between the United States and the Soviet Unionover the
placement of Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. On 16
October 1962, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) informed Pres-
ident John F. Kennedythat U-2 aerial reconnaissance photos re-
vealed Soviet missiles had been secretly moved into Cuba. The CIA’s
National Photographic Interpretation Center(NPIC) had discov-
ered the missiles, which it deemed capable of striking the United
States, on 14 October 1962, and corroborating intelligence was re-
ceived from a Cuban refugee on 20 September 1962 that he had seen
a Russian missile on a truck in Cuba that matched the characteristics
of a Soviet medium-range missile. On 27 October 1962, President
Kennedy went on nationwide television and announced a “quaran-
tine” of the island nation. President Kennedy’s action intensified fears
that a full-scale nuclear war with the Soviet Union was possible, es-
pecially if Soviet ships on their way to Cuba defied the quarantine.
At the same time, the Cubans shot down a U-2 aircraft over Cuba,
and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported
that Soviet diplomats were burning documents in anticipation of a
rupture in relations. With each incident, the United States and the So-
viet Union moved closer to nuclear confrontation. However, after in-46 • CUBA05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 46