The Failed Invaion of Cuba

Cuba The story of the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs is one of negligence, overconfidence, as well as lack of security. The responsibility for the failure of the operation falls straightforwardly in the lap of the Central Intelligence Agency and a young president and his advisors. The fall out from the invasion reasoned an increase in tension between the two great superpowers and paradoxically 34 years later than the event, the person that the invasion intended to overthrow, Fidel Castro, is still in power. The Bay of Pigs invasion was an effort by American-backed Cuban exiles to cause the downfall of the Communist government of Fidel Castro. The plan for the invasion had in fact been Richard Nixon's, however President Eisenhower and the CIA took it from there, forming it into a plan, titled "A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime". It took place earlier than the official breakdown of Cuban/American relations. Signs of wear and tear in the relations had been obvious earlier as well. When John Kennedy succeeded Eisenhower as the president, he agreed and made some amendments in the plan. The invasion was performed by trained Cuban exiles just about 1300 with American weapons landed in the Bay of Pigs. It was expected that the exiles would get support of the local population as they went to Havana. It began on April 17, 1961, at 2:00 in the morning. The area around the Bay of Pigs is swampy as well as marshy, so it was noticeable that the troops would have trouble. Castro's military forces were quick to act in response, and almost immediately his T-33 trainer jets, two Sea Furies, and two B-26s were sent out to halt the invaders. After the first hours of fighting, it was obvious that the American-backed ...

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...asion badly embarrassed the young Kennedy administration. Some critics held responsible Kennedy for not giving it satisfactory support and others for letting it to take place at all. The captured exiles were afterward ransomed by private groups in the U.S. In addition, the invasion made Castro wary of the U.S. He was influenced that the Americans would make an effort to take over the island again. From the Bay of Pigs on, Castro had an increased fear of a U.S. incursion on Cuban soil. References The New York Times. 16 April to 22 April, 1961. New York: The New York Times, 1961. United States. Central Intelligence Agency. Cuba. Map, 22 by 52cm, No. 502988 1-77. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1977. Vandenbroucke, Lucien S. "Anatomy of a Failure: The Decision to Land at the Bay of Pigs." Political Science Quarterly, Volume 99, Number 3, Fall 1984.