Cold War in the Global South: Latin America, Africa & Afghanistan
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Explores how the US-Soviet rivalry played out in developing nations. This stack covers key events like the Cuban Missile Crisis, interventions in Nicaragua and Angola, and the Soviet-Afghan War.
Cold War in the Global South: Latin America, Africa & Afghanistan
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What was the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961?
A failed military invasion of Cuba by CIA-sponsored Cuban exiles. The mission was to overthrow Fidel Castro's new communist government, but its defeat was a major embarrassment for the US and strengthened Castro's ties to the USSR.
What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962?
The US discovered that the Soviet Union was secretly installing nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba, just \(90\) miles from Florida. This event is considered the closest the world has ever come to a full-scale nuclear war.
How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
President Kennedy enacted a naval "quarantine" (blockade) of Cuba. The crisis ended when the USSR agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret US agreement to remove its own missiles from Turkey.
In Chile, the US supported the 1973 overthrow of which democratically elected socialist president?
Salvador Allende. The CIA, fearing his Marxist policies, supported a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who then established a brutal right-wing dictatorship that lasted for 17 years.
Who were the Sandinistas and the Contras in Nicaragua?
The Sandinistas were a leftist socialist party that overthrew the US-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979. The Contras were a collection of right-wing rebel groups armed and funded by the Reagan administration to fight the Sandinistas throughout the 1980s.
How did the Cold War manifest in the Angolan Civil War?
After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola's rival liberation movements fought a long civil war. The Soviet Union and Cuba backed the Marxist MPLA government, while the United States and South Africa supported the anti-communist UNITA rebel group.
Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979?
The USSR invaded to prop up the struggling communist government in Afghanistan, which was facing a widespread and growing rebellion from Islamic fighters known as the Mujahideen.
How did the United States respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
The US implemented Operation Cyclone, a covert program to provide funding and weapons (including shoulder-fired Stinger missiles) to the Mujahideen. This turned the conflict into a costly and unwinnable "Soviet Vietnam."
What was the impact of the Soviet-Afghan War on the Soviet Union?
The decade-long war was a massive military and economic drain on the USSR. The high casualties, cost, and political failure fueled domestic discontent and is considered a major contributing factor to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.
