 In October 1959, Castro called the US "accomplices" of Batista loyalists forces who had launched air attacks on Cuba.Bonsal lodged a formal protest with Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticóson October 27 and blamed Castro for the deterioration of relations.In mid-1960, the Cuban government reached an agreement to sell 700,000 tons of sugar to the Soviet Union, leading to a series of escalating actions by the US and Cuba.