Ep 9. Cold War: Castro?s Revolution

As the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union raged on, another country became a battleground for the two superpowers: Cuba. In season 5 episode 9 of Secrets of War, titled "Cold War: Castro's Revolution," viewers are taken behind the scenes of Fidel Castro's rise to power and how it became a geopolitical flashpoint.

The episode begins by setting the stage: it's the late 1950s, and the Cuban people are fed up with the corrupt leadership of dictator Fulgencio Batista. Enter Fidel Castro, a charismatic young lawyer who leads a group of rebels in a guerrilla war against Batista's regime.

Through interviews with historians, former CIA operatives, and Cuban exiles, the episode explores how Castro's revolution caught the attention of both the United States and the Soviet Union. On one hand, the US saw Cuba as a vital ally in the fight against communism in Latin America. On the other hand, the Soviets saw an opportunity to spread communist ideology in the Western Hemisphere.

As Castro's forces closed in on Havana, the US government began to fear that he would establish a communist regime in Cuba. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized a covert plan to train Cuban exiles to invade the country and overthrow Castro. The resulting Bay of Pigs invasion was a disaster, with Cuban forces easily repelling the poorly planned attack.

The failed invasion only served to heighten tensions between the US and Cuba. Castro, feeling threatened by the US, turned to the Soviet Union for support. The episode goes into detail about how the USSR began to provide military and financial aid to Cuba, as well as installing missile sites on the island.

This set off a diplomatic crisis that brought the world closer to nuclear war than ever before. The US imposed a naval blockade on Cuba, and both sides prepared for a potential war. The episode recounts the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, detailing the actions of Kennedy and Khrushchev as they attempted to avoid a catastrophic conflict.

Despite the resolution of the missile crisis, the US and Cuba remained bitter enemies for decades to come. The episode explores the various ways in which the two countries continued to influence each other's policies, from the failed attempts to assassinate Castro to the unrelenting trade embargo that remains in place to this day.

Overall, "Cold War: Castro's Revolution" provides a fascinating look at the role Cuba played in the larger Cold War battle between the US and the Soviet Union. The episode is filled with interviews with experts, rare footage, and insightful analysis that sheds light on this complex and oftentimes bewildering period of world history.