Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Rachel Newman
Guest: Renata Keller, Associate Professor of History, University of Nevada, Reno
Book Discussed: The Fate of the Americas: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Hemispheric Cold War (UNC Press, 2025)
Date: November 25, 2025

In this episode, Rachel Newman interviews historian Renata Keller on her new book, which re-examines the Cuban Missile Crisis through a hemispheric lens. Keller argues that the standard, often US-centric narrative misses the crucial roles and responses of Latin American nations and peoples, both in triggering and experiencing the 1962 crisis. The conversation uncovers overlooked themes of security, sovereignty, and solidarity—what Keller calls "the three S's"—and explores both government and grassroots reactions across the Americas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What’s Missing from Previous Histories

• Overlooked Perspectives: Despite exhaustive literature on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Latin American governmental and popular responses remain under-studied.
  • “There really wasn’t much at all about other Latin American responses, even either governmental or popular responses to the Cuban Missile Crisis… there actually is a huge hole here.” — Renata Keller [03:13]
• The motivation for Keller’s book arose when, for a commemorative conference, she searched for research on other Latin American countries’ experiences but found a lack of material outside a few articles.

The "Three S's": Security, Sovereignty, Solidarity

• Recurring Themes: Across the hemisphere, political actors and ordinary people debated and acted around the three S’s:
  • Security: Ranging from nuclear threats to fears of invasion or internal disorder.
  • Sovereignty: Arguments polarized around whether Cuba had the right to accept Soviet missiles, or if that acceptance compromised its independence.
  • Solidarity: With Cuba (anti-imperial), with the U.S. (anti-communist), or with other regional actors.
• “A defining feature of the hemispheric Cold War… in addition to divisions, there also were a set of shared values that drove people’s actions in this period.” — Renata Keller [06:38]

The Prehistory: Cuban Revolution’s Hemispheric Impact

• Inspiration and Alarm: The Cuban Revolution (1959) inspired leftist movements across Latin America to envision similar revolutions, but it also unified many governments against Cuba.
  • The U.S. and regional allies responded with sanctions, political and sometimes military action (Bay of Pigs, OAS ouster, etc.).
  • These united pressures were key in prompting the Soviet missile deployment in Cuba.

Challenging the Standard Timeline

• Traditional Narrative Revisited: The “13 days” focus (Oct 22–28, 1962) often ignores key multilateral aspects and excludes Latin American agency.
  • The Organization of American States (OAS) was pivotal, transforming the U.S. naval “blockade” into a multilateral, legally justified “quarantine.”
• Latin American Participation: Multiple countries contributed bases, logistics, and even naval vessels to the quarantine, complicating the narrative that the crisis was solely a U.S.-Soviet affair.
  • “A number of Latin American countries actually participated in the quarantine… Argentina and Venezuela sent two destroyers each.” — Renata Keller [16:25]

Visual Culture: Who Was in the Picture?

• Political Cartoons: A Brazilian cartoon depicted Kennedy and Khrushchev as chess players, with Castro as a powerless child—a strong critique on how power dynamics and sovereignty were perceived.
  • “It shows Castro sacrificing his sovereignty and being very childlike and powerless, hiding behind Nikita Khrushchev and letting someone else determine Cuba’s fate and the fate of the world.” — Renata Keller [12:56]

Experiences on the Ground—Ordinary People in the Crisis

• Cuba: Citizens prepared for both nuclear war and invasion, mobilizing militarily and economically, with major contributions from women and artists.
• Panama: The Canal Zone was seen as a prime nuclear target; thus, intense cooperation with U.S. authorities took place.
• Colombia: Public anxiety centered on fallout from a potential nuclear strike on the Panama Canal; media coverage fueled widespread fear and guidance on shelter-building.
  • “There was just a really high level of tension and I would say terror in Colombia during the missile crisis, in part because of their proximity to Panama, but also thanks to really alarming newspaper coverage.” — Renata Keller [21:41]

Political Catalysts and Domestic Fallout

• Protests and Violence: The crisis precipitated violent confrontations in multiple countries. In Bolivia, a riot between pro- and anti-Cuba demonstrators left five dead.
  • “More Bolivians died as a result of the Cuban Missile crisis than Cubans. And I think that goes to show just how much people saw their own fates connected to Cuba…” — Renata Keller [24:09]
• "War of Words": Political pamphlets, collected by intelligence agencies, revealed deep ideological divisions—supporters of Cuba drew parallels with anti-imperialist struggles; anti-communists saw an existential Red threat.
  • Artistic pamphleteering illustrated the emotive and grassroots level of engagement.

Who Won and Who Lost?

• Mixed Outcomes: Argentina emerged as both winner (closer U.S. ties, military gains) and loser (subsequent coups, U.S. support leading to military dictatorship).
  • “Some people in Argentina were big winners of the crisis, but then the majority came out definitely losers…” — Renata Keller [34:09]
• Left's Disillusionment: The crisis discredited both the Cuban example and alliances with the Soviet Union for leftist movements across Latin America. Many groups, feeling betrayed and directionless, questioned their strategies and identities moving forward.

Long-Term Legacies and Contemporary Relevance

• Continuity and Change:
  • Security & Sovereignty: Remain touchstones in contemporary hemispheric relations, especially in debates on drug trafficking and U.S. intervention.
  • Solidarity: Keller notes a marked decline in emphasis on hemispheric solidarity, especially under recent U.S. administrations.
  • “What I see that has changed significantly is this idea of solidarity… I think that in recent years has disappeared, much to our detriment.” — Renata Keller [37:09]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the three S’s:
  “People across the political spectrum were really worried about their security… They were also talking a lot about sovereignty… Then they were also debating how best to show solidarity and who they should show solidarity with.” — Renata Keller [05:00]
• On Cuba’s sense of betrayal:
  “They felt betrayed by the Soviets, especially because Nikita Khrushchev hadn’t bothered to incorporate them or to include them in the negotiations. … They had to learn through the news that what was happening in their own country.” — Renata Keller [30:20]
• On continuity of Cold War dynamics:
  “I see a lot of continuity in terms of issues of security and sovereignty… What I see that has changed significantly is this idea of solidarity.” — Renata Keller [36:22]

Key Timestamps

• 02:40 – Why another book on the Cuban Missile Crisis?
• 05:00 – Introduction of “the three S’s”
• 07:51 – Prehistory: How the Cuban Revolution catalyzed hemispheric responses
• 10:10 – The classical timeline vs. hemispheric experiences of the crisis
• 12:56 – Cartoon depiction: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and a sidelined Castro
• 15:14 – OAS and the formation of the Inter American Quarantine Force
• 19:59 – Ordinary people’s experiences in Cuba, Panama, and Colombia
• 23:34 – Protests and violent confrontations across Latin America
• 26:04 – The "war of words": Pamphlets and popular politics
• 29:03 – Disappointment with the crisis’s resolution in both anti- and pro-Castro camps
• 31:32 – Winners and losers: Argentina’s complex fate
• 34:28 – The blow to the Latin American left
• 36:22 – Relevance of the “three S’s” in today's hemispheric politics

Conclusion

Renata Keller’s work shifts our understanding of the Cuban Missile Crisis from a bilateral to a hemispheric and even popular phenomenon, highlighting the diversity of Latin American agency and reaction. The episode uncovers how 1962’s crisis echoed beyond superpower diplomacy, reckoning with the aspirations and anxieties of nations and people across the Americas—a lens still illuminating for today’s geopolitics.