AP Photo

It was what many consider the most dangerous moment the world has ever faced: the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which saw the United States square off over nuclear missiles stationed by the Soviet Union in Cuba.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the tense standoff. And while the politics of the Cold War have little relevance for US-Latin American relations today, in some ways the US finds itself in the very position that set the stage for conflict in the first place, says Philip Brenner, a historian of the missile crisis at American University. With US influence waning in the region, Latin America is forging ahead with its own agenda.