Castro's revolution, his seizure of US property and American hostility pushed Cuba into the Soviet camp by 1961.
In January 1959, Fidel Castro's rebels overthrew the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Cuba had been closely tied to the USA. American companies owned much of its sugar, land and utilities, and the island lay only 90 miles from Florida.
Castro began land reform and, in 1960, nationalised American-owned businesses. The USA cut its purchases of Cuban sugar, the island's main export, and began a trade embargo in October 1960. It broke off diplomatic relations in January 1961.
The USSR stepped in. A 1960 trade deal exchanged Soviet oil and loans for Cuban sugar. When US-owned refineries refused to process Soviet oil, Castro seized them too. Each American measure pushed Cuba closer to Moscow.
In April 1961 Castro declared the revolution socialist, and in December 1961 he called himself a Marxist-Leninist. For Khrushchev, Cuba was the first communist ally in the Western Hemisphere, a prize for Soviet prestige in the developing world.
- Revolution
- January 1959: Castro overthrows Batista.
- Embargo
- US trade embargo from October 1960.
- Socialist
- Castro declared the revolution socialist in April 1961.
Worked example: Cause and effect in Cuban-American relations
Explain how relations broke down between 1959 and 1961.
- Revolution: Castro overthrew a US-backed ruler and challenged American economic dominance.
- Action and reaction: nationalisation led to the sugar cut and embargo; these led to closer ties with the USSR.
- Ideology: Castro's declaration of socialism confirmed US fears.
- Result: by 1961 Cuba was a Soviet ally the USA saw as a threat in its own sphere.
Watch out for this
Castro was a communist from the start and planned to join the Soviet bloc.
Castro's early aims were nationalist and reforming. His alignment with Moscow developed through 1960-61, in a cycle of action and reaction with the USA.
Check your understanding
Why did the USSR become important to Cuba in 1960?
- It bought Cuban sugar and supplied oil after the USA cut sugar purchases.
- It installed Castro in power.
- It owned most Cuban sugar plantations.