# Cuba an island country on an island in the West Indies, south of Florida. In 1959, under the leadership of Fidel Castro (1927- ), Cuba became the only communist state in Latin America and a firm ally of the USSR. In 1961 it was the site of the Bay of Pigs invasion, an attempt to oust Castro's government. This attack was approved by the United States president, John F. Kennedy. In 1962 the USSR began secretly building missile launching sites in Cuba which the US demanded be dismantled. See also Kennedy in this glossary.