Bay of Pigs Invasion

The Bay of Pigs Invasion (also known in Cuba as La Playa Girón after a beach in the Bay of Pigs where the landing took place) was a United States-planned and funded landing by armed Cuban exiles in Central Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban communist government of Fidel Castro in 1961. US-Cuban tensions had grown since Castro had overthrown the US-backed regime of General Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. The Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations had made the judgment that Castro's shift toward the Soviet Union could not be tolerated, and moved to overthrow him. However, the invasion failed miserably and proved to be a major international embarrassment for the Kennedy administration. The resulting fiasco of the invasion attempt has been studied as an ideal case of 'groupthink' and poor decision making.

Preparation

The CIA had begun recruiting and training Cuban exiles during the Eisenhower administration, months before diplomatic relations were severed with Cuba in January 1961, as tensions between Washington and Havana were increasing. However, it was Vice President Richard Nixon, and not Eisenhower who pushed the plan forward. Nixon afterwards always feared that his involvement and responsibility for the failure would surface. The CIA was initially confident that it was capable of overthrowing Castro, having experience in toppling Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 and Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in 1954.

Related Topics:
CIA - January - 1961 - Washington - Havana - Vice President - Richard Nixon - Iran - Mohammed Mossadegh - 1953 - Guatemala - Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán - 1954

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Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy, approved the actual invasion but modified the plan. The original plan had called for landing the exile brigade (Brigade 2506) in the vicinity of the old colonial city of Trinidad, located in the central province of Sancti Spiritus approximately 400 km southeast of Havana at the foothills of the Escambray mountains. The selection of the Trinidad site provided a number of options that the exile brigade could exploit to their advantage during the invasion. The population of Trinidad was generally opposed to Castro and the rugged mountains outside the city provided an area of operations where the invasion force could retreat to and establish a guerrilla campaign were the landing to falter. Throughout 1960, the growing ranks of Brigade 2506 trained at locations throughout southern Florida and in Guatemala for the beach landing and possible mountain retreat.

Related Topics:
Eisenhower - John F. Kennedy - Brigade 2506 - Trinidad - Sancti Spiritus - Escambray mountains - Florida - Guatemala

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However, under Kennedy's orders, the mission was revised so as to land Brigade 2506 at two points in Matanzas Province, 202 km southeast of Havana on the eastern edge of the Zapata peninsula at the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). The landings would take place on the Girón and Larga beaches. The US government was aware that a high casualty rate was possible.

Related Topics:
Matanzas Province - Havana - Zapata peninsula - Bahia de Cochinos - Bay of Pigs

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