Reference
- Bay of PigsIn April 1961 putting into effect a plan initially formulated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, U.S. President John F. Kennedy authorized the Bay of Pigs invasion to topple Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. The plan was for a U.S.-trained and equipped force of Cuban exiles to invade Playa Girón in the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the south coast and spark a popular uprising against Castro, which would overthrow his regime and end Cuba's Communist experiment. Ill-conceived from its inception, and plagued by mishaps and missteps, the invasion failed, becoming a major foreign policy embarrassment for Kennedy and solidifying popular support for Castro within Cuba. A few months later, Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara thanked a Kennedy aide for the invasion, which Guevara claimed “enabled [us] to consolidate” the revolution and “transformed [us] from an aggrieved little country to an equal.” The Bay of Pigs fiasco also had major repercussions for the cold war, helping to precipitate the Cuban missile crisis, convincing the Kremlin that Kennedy was weak and indecisive, and steeling Kennedy's resolve to stand up to the perceived menace of global communism.
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Online Resources
- The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, April 1961–October 1962A left-wing revolution in Cuba had ended in 1959 with the ouster of President Fulgencio Batista and the establishment of a new government under Premier Fidel Castro. The Castro regime quickly severed the country’s formerly strong ties with the United States by expropriating U.S. economic assets in Cuba and developing close links with the Soviet Union.
- The Bay of Pigs InvasionIn April 1961, more than a thousand Cuban exiles stormed the beaches at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, intending to ignite an uprising that would overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.
- Bay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 was a failed attack launched by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to push Cuban leader Fidel Castro (1926-2016) from power. On January 1, 1959, a young Cuban nationalist named Fidel Castro drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973), the nation’s American-backed president.
- THE BAY OF PIGSOn April 17, 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.
Why Did the Bay of Pigs Invasion Fail?
- Why Did the Bay of Pigs Invasion Fail? (Simplified)If you look at the US and Cuba on paper, the US should have easily dominated Cuba. But when John F. Kennedy ordered Cuban Exiles to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, it was a major failure. But why did it fail? To find out watch this short and simple animated history
Perspectives
The Bay of Pigs
In January 1959, as Fidel Castro entered Havana in triumph, Americans hailed the revolutionary as a hero. Then came Castro's increasingly anti-American talk, the rise in his regime of the openly Marxist Che Guevara and Raul Castro, and seizures of American-owned assets. In little more than ayear, President Dwight D. Eisenhower concluded that Castro must go.In Bay of Pigs, Howard Jones provides a concise, incisive, and dramatic account of the disastrous attempt to overthrow Castro. He deftly examines the train of missteps and self-deceptions that led to the invasion of U. S.-trained exiles at the Bay of Pigs. Ignoring warnings from the ambassadorto Cuba, the Eisenhower administration put in motion an operation that proved nearly unstoppable even after the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. The CIA and Pentagon, meanwhile, both voiced confidence in the outcome of the invasion, especially after coordinating previous successful coups inGuatemala and Iran. As a vital part of the Cuban effort, the CIA sought to incite a popular insurrection by recruiting the Mafia's help in engineering Castro's assassination on the eve of the invasion. And so the Kennedy administration launched the exile force toward its doom in Cochinos Bay onApril 17, 1961. Jones gives a riveting account of the battle--and the confusion in the White House--before moving on to explore its implications. The Bay of Pigs, he writes, set the course of Kennedy's foreign policy. It was a humiliation for the administration that fueled fears of Communistdomination and pushed Kennedy toward a hardline cold warrior stance. But at the same time, the failed attack left him deeply skeptical of CIA and military advisers and influenced his later actions during the Cuban missile crisis.Richly researched, vividly written, Bay of Pigs offers an engaging and thoughtful account of the turning point in Kennedy's foreign policy and indeed in foreign policy for decades to come.
Bay of Pigs declassified
Drawing extensively on documents that were kept under wraps for nearly 40 years, this video tells the complete story of the ill-fated invasion. Scholars and historians examine its place in the drama of the Cold War, and reveal how it still colors U.S.-Cuban relations.
The Bay of Pigs
Cuba -- History -- Invasion, 1961
April 1961: Bay of Pigs
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
In U.S. history, the Bay of Pigs was a colossal disaster and an embarrassment to President John F. Kennedy. CIA documents shed light on what really happened--but it took 2 years and the threat of a lawsuit to get those documents declassified