By mid-September 1960, the Nixon-Kennedy presidential campaign was underway but everyone was talking about a certain visitor to the UN.
Fidel Castro turned the visit to the UN into a first-rate show. First , he stayed at the Theresa Hotel in Harlem and met with Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam and the poet Langston Hughes. Then he spoke for almost four hours and delivered an attack on US “aggression” and “imperialism”.
Cuba also became a hot topic in the Kennedy-Nixon debates. Senator Kennedy took a very tough posture toward Castro and criticized the Eisenhower policy. VP Nixon, on the other hand, could not reveal existing plans. I recall that my parents, and many Cubans, followed these debates with keen interest. Cuba had never seen such an important issue in a U.S. presidential election.
Unfortunately, President Kennedy did not support the men of Brigade 2506 at the Bay of Pigs. It turned into a huge victory for the Castro regime and the invasion was followed by severe repression against anti-Castro Cubans on the island. (My father’s cousin was arrested at that time)
The Missile Crisis followed 18 months later and you know the rest of the story.
My guess is that no one years ago thought that the bearded Cuban would become such a headache for the winner of the election.
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