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Castro took charge of Cuba in 1959. The US tried to invade and overthrow Castro's government in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion; the country repelled the US forces. Cuba had become allies with the Soviet Union in 1959, and after the failed US invasion attempt, the Soviet Union and Cuba agreed to secretly station nuclear missiles in Cuba. The US was already experiencing tension with the Soviet Union; if they attacked Cuba again, the Soviet Union/Cuba would react by initiating war via the missiles. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the US to the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and after the removal of the missiles was negotiated, the US backed down because they didn't want tensions to heighten again. This happened during the Cold War, which started in 1947 and didn't end until 1991. The embargo set up by the US against Cuba in 1962 is still in effect today; other US interactions with Cuba have been minimal.

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15y ago

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