1 Any unilateral American intervention, in the absence of an external attack upon ourselves or an ally, would have been contrary to our traditions and to our international obligations. 1 President John F. Kennedy said this in a speech three days after the Bay of Pigs invasion. Kennedy was describing why the United States acted in the way they did. The Cuban Revolution (1953-1959) led by Fidel Castro sought political and economic independence from the United States. The United States saw Castro being in power as a major threat and therefore chose to plan for an invasion at the Bay of Pigs in attempt to ultimately overthrow him. In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in an armed revolt. The U.S government distrusted Castro and was cautious of his relationship with the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev. 2 With Cuba being so close to U.S territory, it was a threat to have the nation be communist. The U.S did not want the Soviet Union to have an ally neighboring its country. The U.S feared that if Cuba and the Soviet Union became allies, the threat of nuclear war would be at an all time high. While the United States was planning on what to do in Cuba, Castro had beefed up his armed forces with weapons from the Soviet Union and other Communist countries. 3 The Cuban relationship with the Soviet Union also strengthened when the two countries signed a trade deal in February 1960. The Soviets would supply Cuba with oil and manufactured goods in exchange for hundreds of thousands of tons of sugar a year. United States oil companies in Cuba refused to process Soviet oil and the Cuban government immediately confiscated them. Eisenhower declared an economic embargo on Cuba and 1 Kennedy, John F. "John F. Kennedy, Speech after the Failure at the Bay of Pigs." U.S History Resources. April 20, 1961. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://1.scds.org/resources/us-history/1961_jfk Bay Pigs.pdf. 2 "The Bay of Pigs." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfk/jfk-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs.aspx. 3 DePalma, Anthony. "1961: The Bay of Pigs Invasion." The New York Times Upfront143 (2011). Accessed November 17, 2014. http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f013111_bay-of-pigs
2 eventually severed all diplomatic relations. 4 However, this was not the only way Castro threatened the U.S. Castro s regime worked toward giving Cuba independence from the United States. The revolution challenged half a century of U.S domination of the island and many U.S businesses played a dominant role in Cuba s economy. U.S policymakers main focus was on the interests of U.S investments in Cuba. The Cuban economy was dominated by American owners in retailing, banking, oil refining, production and more. 5 Therefore, having Castro destroy the United States presence in Cuba was a reason why the U.S needed to get involved. There was uproar in the U.S when Castro seized Cuban and American homes, farms, and businesses without compensation. 6 The May 1959 Agrarian Reform restricted the size of farms to 3,333 acres and resulted in greater conflict between the Cuban government s goals and the interests of the United States investors. Many of the properties affected belonged to United States companies or individuals. 7 However, Castro was not just using his power against the United States. Castro was also involved in unsuccessful rebellions in Venezuela, Guatemala, and Bolivia. According to a memorandum from February 11, 1961 written to President Kennedy, Castro had already launched expeditions against Panama and against the Dominican Republic. 8 A revolution throughout Latin America would give Castro even more power and the United States did not want that to happen. 4 Chomsky, A History of the Cuban Revolution, 72. 5 Dunne, Michael. "Perfect Failure: The USA, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs, 1961." The Political Quarterly 82, no. 3 (2011): 448-57. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.sau.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=f5bd6cf0-2221-445e-a9ee- 7d6c5ffb476b@sessionmgr4001&hid=4201. 6 DePalma, Anthony, 1961:The Bay of Pigs Invasion 7 Chomsky, Aviva. A History of the Cuban Revolution. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 72-82 8 Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President s Office Files. Countries. Cuba: Security, 1961. http://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkpof-115-003.aspx
3 It did not take long after the overthrow of Batista for the United States to realize that Castro was a threat. The United States continued to publicly insist they were not going to intervene. However, the real policy was leaning towards invasion, terrorism, and assassination plots. 9 Within three months of the overthrow of Batista, the CIA and the National Security Council (NSC) began to consider removing Castro. After twelve months of planning, the Bay of Pigs operation was approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at an NSC meeting on March 17, 1960. Advisors to the President and CIA members were very set on the invasion plan and did not bother coming up with alternative ways to deal with Castro. The Bay of Pigs invasion was code-named Operation Pluto and had four major elements: grouping the leading Florida exiles into the Frente Revolucionario Democratico (FRD); training a paramilitary force outside Cuba for an armed seaborne invasion; a propaganda offensive against Castro himself and the Cuban road to communism; and American-aided sabotage and counterrevolutionary attacks within Cuba. 10 The most crucial element was the training of Cuban exiles. At the NSC meeting, Eisenhower ordered the creation of a Cuban exile army and began the planning and training for the Bay of Pigs invasion. 11 The exile army trained in south Florida and at United States military and CIA bases in Panama and Guatemala. The exile army became known as Brigade 2506. 12 The planning for the Bay of Pigs invasion overlapped with the 1960 presidential election. John F. Kennedy defeated Nixon and was now President. Therefore, the Bay of Pigs invasion was now in his hands. President Kennedy learned about plans for the invasion and decided that Castro was a threat to all of Latin America and the United States. The White House wanted the United States involvement in the Bay of Pigs to be disguised. To keep the U.S involvement low 9 Chomsky, A History of the Cuban Revolution, 76. 10 Dunne, Perfect Failure: The USA, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs, 1961, 454. 11 Chomsky, Aviva. A History of the Cuban Revolution, 77-82 12 Chomsky, A History of the Cuban Revolution, 78
4 key, Kennedy modified initial plans to provide full air cover for the invading army and the landing site was changed. The original landing site near the southern city of Trinidad, eighty miles east of the Bay of Pigs, was seen as too tricky. Kennedy moved the landing site to the less populated Bay of Pigs. 13 In this swampy region, less air cover would be required and the appearance of a guerilla type of invasion preserved. The airstrip at Zapata was just large enough to accommodate the vital B-26 bombers flown in from Guatemala and therefore made it look more like an internal Cuban operation. 14 With these changes, Operation Pluto now became Operation Zapata. This plan for the Bay of Pigs called for air strikes against Cuban air bases before the actual invasion. Then a 1,400 man invasion force would land in darkness and launch a surprise attack. Paratroopers would be dropped in advance of the invasion and would disrupt transportation and keep away Cuban forces. At the same time, a smaller force would land on the east coast of Cuba to create confusion. The main force would then set up a defensive position across the island at Matanzas and the United Revolutionary Front would send leaders to south Florida and establish a provisional government. The Cuban population joining the invaders was what the success of the plan depended on. 15 If this plan was successful, Castro s communist regime would be overthrown and Cuba would no longer be a threat to the United States. In the days leading up to the invasion, President Kennedy was still skeptical about the plan. He still had time to cancel the whole operation if he wanted to. On April 14, 1961, President Kennedy released the Brigade to sail to its temporary base at Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. The Brigade was informed by American advisors that 700 guerillas would be waiting 13 Dunne, Perfect Failure: The USA, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs, 1961, 455 14 Higgins, Trumbull. The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs. New York: Norton, 1987. 95-133. 15 JFK Library, The Bay of Pigs.
5 near the Bay of Pigs beachhead and that weapons had been loaded on their ships for the anticipation Castro s forces. 16 On April 15, 1961, the first mistake occurred. Eight bombers painted to look like Cuban air force planes left Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields. According to the JFK Library, they missed many of their targets and left most of Castro s air force intact. American support for the invasion was revealed as news broke and President Kennedy cancelled a second air strike. 17 The leading CIA agents of the operation argued with Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, the night before the invasion trying to persuade him that the old freighters and landing craft could not be fully unloaded before dawn. It was too late to cancel the operation that was already unfolding on the shore. 18 Brigade 2506 landed at the beaches along the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961. On the night of their arrival, the Brigade discovered that their American destroyer escort would not be accompanying them after they were within twenty miles of Cuba. The Brigade did not know that in the event of detection and attack while still at sea, the United States Navy had orders to abandon the whole operation and take the invaders to Puerto Rico. Before even landing, the invaders were detected. Castro was awakened sometime after 1 a.m. on April 17 by the news of the Brigade s arrival in the region of the Bay of Pigs. Prior to the invasion, the CIA had been sure that Castro had no direct communication with the beachhead. 19 Small mistakes such as this were not helping this operation to be successful. Castro found out what was going on and knew he needed to take action. Castro was well aware that he needed to wipe out the beach before a provisional government could be established there. He ordered about 20,000 troops to advance toward the 16 Higgins, The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs, 127. 17 JFK Library, The Bay of Pigs. 18 Higgins, The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs, 133. 19 Higgins, The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs, 139.
6 beach over the next 24 hours. Cuban planes bombarded the Brigade, sank two escort ships, and destroyed half of the exile s air support. The ground force had to work with soggy equipment because of bad weather and they had insufficient ammunition. President Kennedy approved an air-umbrella at dawn on April 19 to bomb a dangerous airfield near Havana and help defend the Brigade s aircraft. However, the planes arrived an hour late due to confusion of the change in time zones between Cuba and Nicaragua and they were shot down by the Cubans. The invasion was crushed later that day. Some exiles of the Brigade escaped to the sea, but the rest were rounded up and imprisoned by Castro s forces or killed. Of about 1,400 men from the Brigade who had landed on the beaches, almost 1,200 were captured and about 100 were killed in combat. The Brigade members who had been captured remained imprisoned for twenty months while the United States negotiated a deal with Castro. Robert F. Kennedy eventually made a deal with Castro to exchange $53 million worth of baby food and medicine in exchange for the prisoners. 20 Finding a way to get the Brigade members back from imprisonment was just one of the consequences of the failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. The failure at the Bay of Pigs increased popularity of Castro throughout Latin America and Cuba. Thousands of suspects seen as being involved in the invasion were rounded up by Cuban authorities. Twenty participants of the invasion (including four American citizens) were put on trial and executed for offences they committed while under Batista s rule. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Kennedy took responsibility for the flawed operation created by the previous President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, but significantly altered by Kennedy himself. President Kennedy privately blamed members of the CIA for poor planning, over-confidence, and faulty intelligence. At the same time, the CIA was privately blaming 20 JFK Library, The Bay of Pigs.
7 President Kennedy for calling off the air strikes and therefore abandoning Brigade 2506. 21 The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion only strengthened the revolution in Cuba and Castro s desire to get support from abroad against the United States. The relationship that Castro had with the Soviet Union grew stronger as well and the Soviets placed missiles in Cuba. This became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis and was a major consequence of the failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. After the Cuban Missile Crisis and the release of the Brigade 2506 soldiers, a ceremony was held in Miami s old Orange Bowl. President Kennedy accepted a banner that the soldiers had carried into battle and assured them the flag would be returned to the Brigade in a free Havana. In the decades since the Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuba and United States relations have remained hostile and the banner has yet to be flown over Cuban soil. Castro has made sure his people are always ready for another invasion. An embargo originally ordered by Eisenhower and reinforced by Kennedy continues to be in effect and prevents most Americans from travelling to or doing business in Cuba. 22 Had the United States considered other options for dealing with Castro in Cuba, the relationship between the two countries today may be different. No alternative plans were made for dealing with Castro. The CIA and advisors of the president were very set on overthrowing Castro with an invasion. However, assassination was contemplated in combination with the Bay of Pigs invasion. E. Howard Hunt proposed assassination of Castro as a prelude to the invasion and was assured that it was already in the hands of a special group. 23 It is likely that assassination was part of the original Bay of Pigs plan but it ended up not happening. 21 Dunne, Perfect Failure: The USA, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs, 1961, 456. 22 DePalma, Anthony, 1961:The Bay of Pigs Invasion 23 Chomsky, A History of the Cuban Revolution, 78.
8 Many of the people involved in the planning were concerned with the success of the operation or had doubts about the plan. In a memorandum to President Kennedy, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. explained that he was in favor of the Bay of Pigs plan but he had some concerns about the operation. He explains, No matter how Cuban the equipment and personnel, the US will be held accountable for the operation, and our prestige will be committed to its success. He also argued that the operation will turn into a prolonged civil conflict since the Castro regime was too strong to be overthrown by a single landing. 24 The memorandum was written just twelve days before the planned invasion which showed that people involved still had doubts about the plan including President Kennedy. President Kennedy still had the power to call off the invasion days before the operation would take place but he decided not to. With better planning for the operation and more accurate CIA intelligence, the operation may have been successful. If the operation had been successful, Castro might have been overthrown and United States relations with Cuba might be in a better state. Any unilateral American intervention, in the absence of an external attack upon ourselves or an ally, would have been contrary to our traditions and to our international obligations. President Kennedy explains in a speech three days after the defeat at the Bay of Pigs that if the United States had not got involved in the way that it did then they would have been going against their traditions and international duties. Castro was seen as a threat to the United States and other Western Countries and it was the United States duty to protect them. The invasion at the Bay of Pigs may have failed but the United States did what they thought would help them fulfill their duties and protect their country. 24 Papers of John F. Kennedy, Memorandum for the President: Cuba April 5, 1961.
9 Bibliography Chomsky, Aviva. A History of the Cuban Revolution. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley- Blackwell, 2011. DePalma, Anthony. "1961: The Bay of Pigs Invasion." The New York Times Upfront143 (2011). Accessed November 17, 2014. http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/ indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f 013111_bay-of-pigs Dunne, Michael. "Perfect Failure: The USA, Cuba and the Bay of Pigs, 1961." The Political Quarterly 82, no. 3 (2011): 448-57. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.sau.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=f5bd6c f0-2221-445e-a9ee-7d6c5ffb476b@sessionmgr4001&hid=4201. Higgins, Trumbull. The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs. New York: Norton, 1987. Kennedy, John F. "John F. Kennedy, Speech after the Failure at the Bay of Pigs." U.S History Resources. April 20, 1961. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://1.scds.org/resources/us- History/1961_JFK Bay Pigs.pdf. Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President s Office Files. Countries. Cuba: Security, 1961. http://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkpof-115-003.aspx "The Bay of Pigs." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfk/jfk-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs.aspx.