Bay Of Pigs Pros And Cons

By the time the Bay of Pigs occurred, the Cuban government developed close ties with the Soviet Union and cut its ties with the United States. It became the first Communist state in the Western Hemisphere, led by Fidel Castro. Cuba became a threat to the United States because it was close to its proximity and it was supported by its archenemy—the Soviet Union. The Eisenhower administration initiated the operation by providing support to the Cuban exiles, having the CIA provide them secret training to attack the island of Bahía de Cochinos. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was supposed to be a top secret organized plan to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba. This, however, ended up in a fiasco in where the operation failed because the information was

The Platt Amendment of 1903 granted the United States certain power and control over Cuba as a condition for the removal of American troops after the Spanish-American War of 1898. It gave the United States the right to interfere in Cuba’s economic, military, and political affairs. The Platt Amendment was revoked in 1934 but only a few Cubans had forgotten about it. One could argue that the amendment was beneficial for Cuba because a school system was organized, finances were set in order, etc. but through the eyes of the Cubans, the United States presence was an assault to their sovereignty. America had long controlled the country’s economy that left an impression of United States hegemony. “Eighty percent of Cuban utilities… were owned by Americans prior to the Castro administration.” Forty percent of the sugar industry was also owned by Americans and they “accounted for the lion’s share of the sugar market”. Cuba lived by what the United States were willing to pay for the sugar. Due to the dominance and the presence of the United States within Cuba, Castro became the speaker of his fellow Cubans’ resentment toward the United States. As much as he can successfully paint the United States as the enemy of Cuba, the easier it is to explain the fact that Cuba’s economy was failing. The Bay of Pigs invasion was the perfect opportunity for Castro’s goals and its outcome exactly did that. It became the catalyst that spurred the destructive series of events. The long history between Cuba and the United States built up bitterness among the Cubans for so long and the failed operation gave them additional reasons to further despise the United States and enough reason for Castro to accept Khrushchev’s