Learning objective : Evaluate the reasons why relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union

grew stronger and relations with the USA worsened between 1959 and 1961

Instructions: Continue watching the video attached from 33 minutes 25 seconds until 44
minutes and 47 seconds and then complete the table below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0952Hj4fWw&t=1588s

Cuban relations with the Soviet Union and the United States 1959 – 1961
Why did relations between Cuba and the Answer:Diplomatic ties between the Soviet
Soviet Union grow stronger? Union and Cuba were established after the
1959 Cuban Revolution, during which the
country became dependent on Soviet
markets and military aid, with Cuba
becoming a major ally of the USSR during
the Cold War in return

How did they improve relations? Answer:Cuba’s erratic drift toward

socialism and its growing dependence on
the Soviet Union divided both the
leadership and the country at large.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans,
especially skilled workers and wealthy
investors, emigrated to the United States
(principally to Miami, Florida), Spain, and
other countries. Soviet economic and
military support was crucial in the early

Why did relations between Cuba and the
US worsen?
What did each country do to make
relations get worse?
years of Castro’s regime, and Soviet
maneuvers often aroused strong
antagonism from the United States.
Answer:Tensions between the two nations
reached their peak in 1962, after U.S.
reconnaissance aircraft photographed the
Soviet construction of intermediate-range
missile sites. The discovery led to the
Cuban Missile Crisis. Trade relations also
deteriorated in equal measure.
Answer:Relations between the United
States and Cuba had been steadily
declining since Castro seized power in
early 1959. U.S. officials were soon
convinced that Castro’s government was
too anti-American to be trusted, and they
feared that he might lead Cuba into the
communist bloc. Early in 1960, following
Castro’s decision to sign a trade treaty
with the Soviet Union, the Eisenhower
administration began financing and
training a group of Cuban exiles to
overthrow the Cuban leader. Castro
responded by increasing his program of
nationalizing foreign property and
companies. In return, the United States
began to implement cutbacks in trade with
Cuba. The diplomatic break on January 3,
1961 was the culmination of an increasingly
acrimonious situation.