In the 1960 elections, Nixon faced incumbent Democratic president Hubert Humphrey for the presidency. Under Humphrey, the United States was beginning to recover from the loss of prestige suffered from their defeat in the Third World War, with several veterans advocating reconciliation with the Soviet Union. By December of that year, American forces had secured Pinar del Rio in western Cuba, and were quickly approaching Havana. However, the American forces, under Curtis LeMay, encountered an unexpected threat: the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Cubans.