Bay of Pigs Invasion

Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961, an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government. On Apr. 17, 1961, an armed force of about 1,500 Cuban exiles landed in the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the south coast of Cuba. Trained since May, 1960, in Guatemala by members of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the approval of the Eisenhower administration, and supplied with arms by the U.S. government, the rebels intended to foment an insurrection in Cuba and overthrow the Communist regime of Fidel Castro. The Cuban army easily defeated the rebels and by Apr. 20, most were either killed or captured. The invasion provoked anti-U.S. demonstrations in Latin America and Europe and further embittered U.S.-Cuban relations. Poorly planned and executed, the invasion subjected President Kennedy to severe criticism at home. Cuban exile leader José Miró Cardona, president of the U.S.-based National Revolutionary Council, blamed the failure on the CIA and the refusal of Kennedy to authorize air cover for the invasion force, but perhaps more crucial was the fact that the uprising the exiles hoped and needed to spark did not happened. Much later it was revealed that the CIA task force planning the invasion had predicted that the invasion's goals unachievable without U.S. military involvement; it is unclear whether Kennedy or CIA chief Allen Dulles knew of the assessment. In Dec., 1962, Castro released 1,113 captured rebels in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine raised by private donations in the United States.

Bibliography: See K. E. Meyer and T. Szulc, The Cuban Invasion (1962); H. B. Johnson, The Bay of Pigs (1964).

Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17–19, 1961) a CIA-sponsored invasion by 1,300 Cuban exiles of the Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs), Cuba, intended to foment rebellion and overthrow of Fidel Castro's communist regime, but crushed by 20,000 Cuban militiamen in a one-day battle. The long-planned, covert operation, unanimously approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was presented to President John F. Kennedy for authorization in his first week in office by CIA director Allen Dulles. Kennedy reluctantly gave the go-ahead, and the operation promptly fell apart. The president refused to authorize air support—the U.S. government supposedly was not involved—and most of the exiles were either killed or captured. The invasion provoked international outrage, humiliated the new president and intensified his determination to overthrow Castro, and led to the removal of Dulles from the CIA.