On January 1, 1959, the Cuban government fell to communist revolutionaries, propelling Fidel Castro into power. The Soviet Union supported and praised Castro and his resistance, and the new government was recognized by the Soviet government on January 10. When the United States began boycotting Cuban sugar, the Soviet Union began purchasing large quantities to support the Cuban economy in return for fuel and eventually placing nuclear ballistic missiles on Cuban soil. These missiles would be capable of reaching the United States very quickly. On October 14, 1962, an American spy plane discovered these nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba.