The Nuclear War crisis during the Kennedy era (Essay Sample)

FIDEL CASTRO AND THE CUBAN REVOLUTION
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Introduction
Fidel Castro is remembered for leading one of the most enduring and successful revolutions in the history of the contemporary world on January 1, 1959. This was a well-prosecuted revolution against the military junta of Fulgencio Batista. Castro was a Marxist, and due to his ideological difference with American capitalism, the trade between America and Cuba dwindled. Previously, during the reign of the general Batista, Americans traded with Cuba on sugar, which was Cuba's main export. The United States, therefore, refused to trade with Cuba, resulting in the seizure of all American assets in Cuba. It all began when the Fidel-Castro led government issued a directive to all managers of US-owned oil refineries in Cuba to resume importing oil from Russia. However, under the US-government directives, the managers declined. This resulted in the seizure of all American assets. In retaliation, Cuba allied with the USSR. The United States imposed importation quotas on Cuban sugar. The then Russian president Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba against a further American invasion at all costs.[Bray, Donald W., and Marjorie Woodford Bray. "Introduction: The Cuban Revolution and World Change." (2002): 3-17.]