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Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 Clear All

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November 28, 1962	Letter from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 28 November 1962 Boissevain writes to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs on the status of the Soviet missiles in Cuba. There are reports of hidden missiles within Cuba, buried in underground fortifications by the Soviets. He attaches confidential information that details the locations and means of concealment of these missiles.
November 26, 1962	Letter from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 26 November 1962 Boissevain explains the previous disjointed cable sent to Amsterdam on 26 November. Anastas Mikoyan gave a farewell speech which contained old communist platitudes and admiration for the Cuban people. He makes references to Fidel Castro several times, but ironically Castro is not with Mikoyan, instead retreating to Havana University. The leader revealed a manifesto entitled "Cuba's Answer to Kennedy," which contained: a reiteration of Castro's Five Points, the demand of a UN investigation into U.S.-led attacks on Cuban military bases, the Cuban right to defend itself, and a statement regarding lack of faith in Kennedy's promises of nonaggression. In Boissevain's mind this will serve to only aggravate both the Soviet Union and the United States, and, in his words, "an anxious time begins."
November 26, 1962	Cable from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 26 November 1962 The short cable concerns a farewell speech given by Anastas Mikoyan, which was, in the words of Boissevain, a "pep talk" to Castro. The speech failed to gain any further concessions from Fidel Castro beyond what Mikoyan could initially get Castro to agree to.
November 21, 1962	Letter from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 21 November 1962 Boissevain writes how nationalistic fervor is at the fever pitch in Cuba. He comments on widespread use of slogans and propaganda posters everywhere in Havana and the effects they have on the average Cuban. Despite the end of the military blockade against Cuba, tensions still run high between Castro and Kennedy. The island is now "completely isolated" resulting in severe shipping delays from Europe, if any arrive at all.
November 20, 1962	Cable from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain) The cable concerns the farewell dinner of Anastas Mikoyan, where Fidel Castro is notably absent, supposedly because he was seen drunk elsewhere. Mikoyan finally made Castro concede to UN Secretary General U Thant's last precondition to remove the IL-28 Soviet bombers from Cuba. Boissevain also reports on an air raid on a Cuban cargo ship, which was undamaged after receiving 11 bombs.
November 19, 1962	Letter from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 19 November 1962 Boissevain reports to Amsterdam the current domestic situation in Cuba, with attention being paid to Havana. In his words, Cuba is "on a war footing," and describes the various posters with propagandistic slogans urging the people to stand strong against a possible American invasion.
September 2, 1962	Note from Cuban Ambassador to Bulgaria, Salvador Garcia Aguero, to Bulgarian Foreign Minister, 2 September 1962 Warning about the content of Castro’s declaration with regard to US threats against Cuba. Reference to the media and other authorities copies of the declaration.
November 9, 1962	Cable from Dutch Embassy, Washington (Van Roijen), 9 November 1962 Van Roijen cables from Washington about a conversation he had with British Ambassador to the United States David Ormsby-Gore. Ormsby-Gore explains the possible reaction from Moscow to the defeat suffered in the crisis as twofold: Those who are of the opinion that Khrushchev will make a countermove, while those whose judgment is that Khrushchev has finally understood that the Americans in fact are willing to fight for their vital national interests has learned severe lessons for future Soviet policy in the Cold War. Both van Roijen and Ormsby-Gore that perhaps the most decisive moment of the whole crisis was the American blockade of Cuba herself. The cable concludes with Ormsby-Gore addressing the possibilities of hidden missiles in Cuba, to which he claims aerial reconnaissance has not produced any evidence to support this.
November 7, 1962	Cable from Dutch Embassy, Havana (Boissevain), 7 November 1962 The cable focuses on a report from the German embassy that in several places in Cuba, Soviet weapons are hidden under cement. There is still no progress on the dialogue between Fidel Castro and Anastas Mikoyan.
November 2, 1962	Cable from Dutch Embassy, Washington (Van Roijen), 2 November 1962 The cable is centered around Cuba and the Organization of American States (OAS). Van Roijen and Ward P. Allen discuss a cable intercepted from Venezuela about possible attempts of sabotage by pro-Castro organizations in Caracas. However, there is no report from the U.S. Embassy Caracas to confirm this. There are, however, protests being reported in the American-aligned Latin American countries, which is seen as an attempt by Cuba to stir revolutionary sentiment in these countries. The size and frequency of these protests by pro-Castro and communist groups is very limited.