1962 21st May
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro discussed the Soviet proposal to deploy strategic missiles as protection against another American-backed attempt to overthrow his government.
Cold War · October 1962 · permanent subject timeline
Fidel Castro and the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban prime minister's role in deployment, defence and the final days of the crisis. This page combines historical context with 17 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis archive.
Historical context
Fidel Castro and the Cuban Missile Crisis: overview and significance
What happened?
Fidel Castro accepted the Soviet missile deployment, mobilised Cuban defences and warned Khrushchev that a U.S. invasion appeared imminent as the confrontation intensified.
Why was it important?
Castro's role illustrates Cuba's independent security concerns and the tension created when Moscow and Washington negotiated major settlement terms without full Cuban control.
World History Database records
Fidel Castro and the Cuban Missile Crisis timeline
The records below are selected from the 195-record Cuban Missile Crisis archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1962
1962 29th May
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro accepted the strategic deployment in principle after Soviet representatives presented the plan as a defense of Cuba.
1962 May
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro accepted the Soviet proposal to deploy missiles after consulting senior Cuban leaders.
1962 22nd October
Cuban Missile Crisis
The US announce its discovery of missile sites, and implements a quarantine around Cuba that woul intercept and search vessels heading for Cuba.
1962 22nd October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro mobilized Cuban forces after Kennedy announced the quarantine and demanded removal of the Soviet offensive missiles.
1962 23rd October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro rejected the legality of the quarantine and prepared Cuba for the possibility of American air strikes or invasion.
1962 26th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro warned Khrushchev that an invasion appeared imminent and urged a decisive Soviet response.
1962 26th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro warned Khrushchev that American military action appeared imminent and urged the Soviet Union to resist an invasion decisively.
1962 27th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro urges Khrushchev to launch a nuclear first strike against the United States if Cuba is invaded, but Khrushchev rejected any first strike response.
1962 28th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev agrees to remove the Soviet missiles from Cuba. Castro demands that the USA evacuate Cuba's Guantanamo naval base.
1962 28th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro issued five demands for a broader settlement and rejected foreign inspection on Cuban territory.
1962 28th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro learned that Khrushchev had agreed to remove the missiles without first securing Cuban approval of the settlement.
1962 29th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro reiterated demands concerning Guantanamo, reconnaissance flights, economic pressure, and support for exile attacks against Cuba.
1962 4th November
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro resisted intrusive international inspection proposals while discussing implementation of the Soviet withdrawal with Mikoyan.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev agrees to remove the missiles in exchange for a US commitment not to invade Cuba and that the US will remove American MRBMs targeting Russia from Turkey and Italy.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis
Khrushchev wants to locate missiles in Cuba as a deterrent to a US invasion and justifies the move in response to US missile deployment in Turkey.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis
The US government views the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons 90 miles south of Key West as an aggressive act and a threat to US security.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
FRUS: Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath · JFK Library · U.S. National Archives
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