What Really Caused the Cuban Missile Crisis?The secret war the US started first.

From the show

Hidden Sides of History

The Cuban Missile Crisis is remembered as a moment the world held its breath, but the story didn't start there. It was a direct response to Operation Mongoose, a covert and aggressive CIA campaign to destabilize Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. This sustained aggression from the U.S. convinced both Cuba and the Soviet Union that an invasion was imminent. The placement of nuclear missiles was a desperate act of deterrence, not an unprovoked act of aggression.