Final answer:
To retaliate against Soviet ICBMs in Cuba, President Kennedy established a naval blockade and announced it publicly, leading to a 13-day standoff during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis ended peacefully with the Soviet Union agreeing to remove their missiles in exchange for US concessions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The US responded to the presence of Soviet intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 with a series of decisive actions aimed at diffusing the confrontation. After U-2 spy plane photographs confirmed the installation of missile silos, President John F. Kennedy convened the National Security Council to consider the US's options. Rejecting military advice for an invasion, which could escalate into nuclear war, Kennedy decided on a naval blockade of Cuba, or a "quarantine," to stop further Soviet shipments. On October 22, 1962, he announced this blockade to the world and stated that any attempt by Soviet ships to breach this blockade would be met with force.
The tense standoff, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, lasted for 13 days, during which the world watched the possibility of a nuclear war unfold. The US military was placed on high alert, with additional measures such as low-flying US planes over Cuba preparing for a potential invasion. Eventually, a resolution was reached when the Soviet Union agreed to dismantle the missile sites in Cuba in exchange for the US promising not to invade Cuba and secretly agreeing to remove American missiles from Turkey.