ABSTRACT
On New Years Day, 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. On taking power, Castro launched a revolution that challenged major U.S. interests on the island, including mob-run casinos, U.S. military missions, and investments worth many millions of dollars. Castro decried U.S. hegemony and Cuban dependency and vowed to restructure economic and political life to reduce U.S. influence, which had grown exponentially since the turn of the century. In 1960, relations between the two countries deteriorated rapidly after the U.S. imposed trade sanctions on the island. The Cubans increasingly turned to the Soviet Union, which became Castro’s economic and military partner. In January 1961, the United States broke relations with Castro when the Cubans ensconced themselves firmly in the Soviet orbit.
