196216–28 October 1962 · Havana and Pinar del Río

Cuban Missile Crisis

U-2 reconnaissance photograph of Soviet missile equipment near San Cristobal, Cuba, October 1962 — Archival image: USAF. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

US spy planes photographed Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction in western Cuba. President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine, and for thirteen days the world faced the risk of nuclear war, until Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret deal on US missiles in Turkey. A Washington–Moscow hotline followed.

Political History
Military & Battlefields
Espionage & Intelligence
Havana, Cuba

Sites

Site 1: Morro-Cabaña Historical Military ParkSoviet missile and launch equipment displayed at the fortress.Map ↗
Site 2: Cueva de los PortalesCave in Pinar del Río used by Che Guevara as a command post during the crisis.Map ↗