The Cuban Missile Crisis was truly one of the world's worst escalations of tension between two willing and capable superpowers that could have caused damage that both sides would still be recovering from today. Starting from the issues concerning Cuba, the crisis involved US President John F. Kennedy and USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev. The United States' involvement with Cuba came much earlier than that of the USSR, however, once the USSR entered the scene, the Thirteen Day Crisis officially began. What began as a U.S. attempt to overthrow Cuba's corrupt government turned into a baffling stalemate over nuclear war between two militarily strong world powers at the time. Serving as both a catalyst for future legislation and a reminder of how fragile international relations can become, the Cuban missile crisis was an event one would like to get ever closer to. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Before Cuba became the center of the conflict during this thirteen-day period, it was under U.S. surveillance for nearly a decade. The United States was one with Cuba at one point, before 1962 and then again after 2015. Trade and general relations between the two were no different than that of a typical international relationship. Both benefited economically from the purchase of each other's assets, the United States enjoyed their investments, and a generally peaceful atmosphere existed between the two. There was only one issue that disrupted this mutual relationship and that was the rise of Fidel Castro. Before his uprising, Cuba was governed under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The United States supported Batista and his policies, in fact Batista himself, then in his second term, came to power in ways similar to those of Castro. Although with a declining defense base and civilian corruption, Batista was officially ousted in 1959. “He and his supporters then fled to the Dominican Republic.” Castro then took Batista's position and began to cut and shape international relations one after another. The first on his list to disappear were those with the United States. ”US businesses, oil refineries, factories and casinos were nationalized, prompting the United States to end diplomatic relations and impose a trade embargo that was only lifted as recently as 2015. At the same time, Cuba was developing relations with the Soviet Union, becoming increasingly dependent on their support and resources. Castro himself then openly identified with the Soviets and their leadership as someone who was on their side, calling his platform Marxist-Leninist. By 1961, not only was the United States concerned about Communist expansion in the Far East, but it now had a satellite just 90 miles east of its coast. U.S. officials were unhappy with the events that transpired leading up to Castro's seizure of power. In fact they tried more than a dozen times to take him out using clever ways to do it. “From poisonous cigars, to the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion, everything failed and Castro continued undeterred with his plans of action.” Meanwhile, Cuba benefited greatly from the military support and resources provided by the Soviet Union. They would later also help other Latin American countries by providing similar aid. Nonetheless, shipments of products ranging from daily necessities to firearms and ammunition were sent to Cuba. At that time, Castro and Khrushchev, then a member of the Soviet Union, developed relations.