Oct. 28, 1962 - Premier Fidel Castro demanded today that the U.S. evacuate its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. This was taken in Washington as a major point in evidence that Cuba’s revolutionary leader was struggling to salvage his prestige at home and in the rest of Latin America. U.S. officials and Latin-American diplomats believed the provisional accord between Washington and Moscow on the withdrawal of nuclear missiles from Cuba left the Castro regime a substantial loser in the crisis. There was agreement in Washington that the realities of East-West relationships and the close danger of war in recent days had forced a solution of the missile-base dispute over Castro’s head. Whether or not he was fully consulted by Moscow on the decision to quit the bases, it appeared clear that he was highly disturbed over the turn of events in the last 24 hours.
