Where was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Cuban Missile Crisis centered on Cuba, a Caribbean island just 90 miles south of Florida, where the Soviet Union secretly installed nuclear missiles in 1962. The crisis played out across multiple locations: missile sites in western Cuba, the U.S. naval quarantine line in the Atlantic, the White House and Kremlin where leaders deliberated, and the United Nations where diplomats clashed publicly.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was fundamentally a crisis of geography — the placement of nuclear weapons in a location that transformed the Cold War's strategic balance. Understanding where it happened is essential to understanding why it was so dangerous.
Cuba's geographic position made it uniquely provocative. Located just 90 miles from Key West, Florida, it was closer to the American mainland than any Soviet ally. Nuclear missiles based in Cuba could reach Washington, D.C., and most major American cities in minutes — far less warning time than missiles launched from Soviet territory. This geographic proximity is why the United States considered the missiles an intolerable threat, even though the Soviet Union already possessed intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach America.
The missile sites were located primarily in western Cuba, near the town of San Cristobal. American U-2 spy planes photographed the sites under construction on October 14, 1962 — photographs that clearly showed medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) launchers being assembled. Additional sites for intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), which could reach virtually any target in the continental United States, were also identified.
The U.S. naval quarantine was established in a ring around Cuba, blocking Soviet ships from delivering additional missile components. The most tense moments occurred at sea, as Soviet ships approached the quarantine line. The world held its breath — if a Soviet ship attempted to run the blockade, the United States would have to enforce it, potentially starting a military confrontation that could escalate to nuclear war. The ships ultimately turned back.
But the crisis was truly global. In the White House, Kennedy and his ExComm advisors debated options. In the Kremlin, Khrushchev weighed the risks. At the United Nations, Ambassador Adlai Stevenson confronted Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin with photographic evidence. Soviet submarines armed with nuclear torpedoes lurked near the quarantine line — it was later revealed that only the dissent of a single officer, Vasili Arkhipov, prevented a nuclear torpedo launch. American Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy were part of the secret deal that resolved the crisis.
The Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated that in the nuclear age, geography could make the difference between tension and catastrophe. The same weapons that were strategically tolerable in one location became an existential threat when moved 90 miles from American shores.