Bay of Pigs invasion (redirected from Playa Giron)

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).

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Bay of Pigs invasion

(April 17, 1961) Abortive invasion of Cuba directed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and carried out by Cuban exiles. The invasion was intended to spark a rebellion that would topple Fidel Castro, whose communist regime was considered a threat to U.S. interests in the region. The invasion began with the bombing of Cuban military bases; two days later a force of about 1,500 landed at several sites along the coast, including the Bay of Pigs. The rebellion never materialized, the invasion force was quickly defeated, and more than 1,100 men were imprisoned. The result was a huge propaganda victory for Castro and a severe embarrassment for the administration of U.S. president John F. Kennedy.