“Our Goal Is Not the Victory of Might, but the Vindication of Right” – the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Discovery of the Nuclear Missiles in Cuba

Worried that Cuba would, In September 1962, the U.S. placed restrictions on U-2 flights (US intelligence gathering aircraft) over Cuban airspace, which lasted for five weeks. This was in a bid to prevent Cuba from shooting down a CIA-operated U-2 that could have led to another international event.

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October 1962: Aerial spy photos of a medium range ballistic missile base with medium-rangeling various parts of the base during the Cuban Missile Crisis, San Cristobal, Cuba. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

On October 14, American U-2 plane pilot Major Richard S. Heyser took aerial photographs while making a high-altitude pass over Cuba. The photos clearly showed evidence of medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles being installed in Cuba. The images were processed and sent to the White House the following day.

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