Florida Keys (The Era of Relative Peace)

The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost portion of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas.

During World War III, portions of the Florida Keys were taken by Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces soldiers disguised in commercial cargo ships and fishing trawlers. It was the only time Florida was invaded, but the not within the mainland. The purpose of the Cuban troops was to distract American military efforts in Europe as to open a new front in the Atlantic with the Soviet Union. Concurrently, the Soviet Navy was attacking U.S. Navy bases in the East Coast while Cuba launched invasions of the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Since an invasion of Florida was disregarded, Florida National Guard soldiers quickly retook the Florida Keys from the Cubans.