Hunters in the backyard? The UK, the us and the question of arms sales to Castro's Cuba, 1959

Abstract

The UK supplied arms to the Batista government in Cuba right up to the time of Batista's dramatic flight in December 1958. The new Castro government's request that the balance of an order for Sea Fury aircraft ‐ paid for by Batista ‐ be delivered, created a marked dilemma for the British government. Supply was economically desirable and would also bring political benefits. However, supply would also run counter to US interests. Later in 1959 the dilemma was heightened when the Cubans suggested exchanging the Sea Furies for more advanced Hunter aircraft. This case represents an intriguing example of the politics of British arms sales in the immediate post‐Suez era, and also a modest contribution to the ongoing debate which seeks to explain US reactions to the Cuban Revolution, and the question of whether or to what extent the US ‘pushed’ Castro into the arms of the USSR.