During the Cold War era, there were tense moments between the United States and the Soviet Union but, none other like the Cuban Revolution. In the years following the Cuban Revolution, certain events made the situation escalate to a point where it could have triggered a greater conflict between these two powerful nations. We can study in-depth these historical events and discover different primary sources related to this topic on the National Security Archive website where I had the opportunity to find, after intensive research, a document named “Eyes Only for the President” written by Richard N. Goodwin, advisor to then-President John F. Kennedy, on November 1, 1961. In this document, we can perceive the urgency in Goodwin’s words to create an effective plan for an armed intervention to overthrow dictator Fidel Castro who represented a threat to the national security of this nation. In this letter to President Kennedy, Goodwin emphasizes the importance of designing a project in extreme secrecy, to solve the recurrent problem of communism in Cuba which could eventually affect all parts of Latin America.
Fidel Castro, along with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, led what it would be known as the Cuban Revolution at the end of the 1950s, overthrowing dictator Fulgencio Batista and ultimately proclaiming Castro the new absolute leader of Cuba. Castro and “El Che” were convinced that the best solution to the current situation in Cuba was to declare independence over the evilness of imperialism. To achieve this, new reformations were immediately implemented in the island, such as authoritarian power, nationalization of private companies, and social equality inspired by Leninist-Marxist ideas. with that Cuba could be a government autonomous and not a colony manipulated by imperialism. Castro, in his speeches, declared that even before the revolution, all the social and economic problems of Cuba and Latin America had a name, and it was the United States. This country, since the beginning of the 20th century, had taken advantage of the vulnerability of all Latin American governments to impose its laws through intimidation that only benefited the US government while impoverishing the peoples of Latin America.
In Cuba in 1901, after the Spanish-American War, an amendment named the Plat Amendment was created in the Cuban constitution to give the United States the right to intervene in Cuba when necessary. For many years after this amendment was created, the United States greatly influenced the island’s politics while gaining control of the economy, creating social inequality, a lack of labor rights, and overall discontent in the society. Fidel Castro’s acknowledged these issues and saw the opportunity to make a revolution that would change the political history of Cuba. He believed that communism was the only reliable method to solve the current situation therefore, he decided to ally with the Soviet Union in hopes of gaining more power. The alliance between the Soviet Union and Cuba deeply concerned the US government, which saw this union as a threat to national security but, more importantly, a threat to the democracy of all Latin American nations.
In April 1961, the US government led the invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro. This invasion failed and, with that, the opportunity to liberate the Cuban people from the oppression and authoritarianism of Castro. Richard Goodwin, on November 1, 1961, months after the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs, wrote in his memorandum to President Kennedy persuading him to continue in the efforts of collaborating to carry out another mission to overthrow Castro and stop the spread of communism in Latin America. Goodwin, in this document, highlights three major points; The next mission will have to have a leader, an action plan, and everything must be handled with confidentiality to ensure victory.
In conclusion, this primary source teaches us how important was for the United States to protect and fight for the democracy of all Latin American nations. Cuba was taking a challenging position in the eyes of this country for this reason new measures had to be implemented to put an end to this regime.
Work Cited
Wood, James A. and Anna Rose Alexander, editors. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
Document link: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/dc.html?doc=6434683-National-Security-Archive-Doc-07-White-House
National Security Archive “White House, Richard N. Goodwin, Memorandum, Eyes Only for the President, November 1, 1961