After Cuba openly aligned with the USSR in 1960, the US terminated relations with its neighboring island, pledging not to intervene militarily to overthrow Castro. However, in 1961 the US sponsored an invasion by a group of Cuban exiles attempting to start an internal anti-Castro revolution. This attempt failed, and following the capture of over 1,000 rebels, Castro made a statement suggesting that any US military activity directed at Cuba would lead to world war. After this installment, you receive a message from CIA Director John McCone in which he says he believes that Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) will be deployed in Cuba. On October 9th, you order a U-2 reconnaissance flight over western Cuba to identify the possible presence of MRBMs. On October 16th, you receive photos confirming the presence of these missiles at San Cristobal, and call for a meeting with your advisors to discuss possible courses of action (a meeting that will later become known as EX-COMM).