Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961 The Bay of Pigs Invasion, Operation Zapata, was an attempt by anticommunist Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro s Cuban government. This operation began on March 17, 1960, when United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower made an agreement with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to arm and train Cuban exiles for a planned attack of Cuba. Cuba was allied with the Soviet Union, America s Cold War adversary. Eisenhower thought it was necessary for the United States to aid the exiles. Originally, the CIA began to recruit and to train exiles in the American Canal Zone. Later the United States made an agreement with the president of Guatemala to begin training in Guatemala. The CIA was confident the exiles would overthrow the Cuban government. In January 1961, John F. Kennedy became President of the United States. On February 17, Kennedy was informed of the massive amount of munitions the Cuban army possessed. He was informed Cuba had Soviet tanks, in addition to some small arms and weaponry. The Cuban air force was stocked with T-33 trainer jets, A-26 Invader bombers, and Hawker Sea Furies. Because of this information, changes were made to the original plan for attack. The original plan had called for landing the Cuban exiles, known as Brigade 2506, by the port city of Trinidad near the Escambray Mountains in southeastern Cuba. Now, the exiles would land on the Giron and Zapatos Larga beaches, which were still southeast of Havana. This change was made after a Russian spy informed Castro about the original landing spot. The Cubans also sensed an invasion was imminent. The success of the invasion depended on an uprising of anti-castro Cubans. Anticipating this, the Castro government arrested more than 100,000 Cubans who might pose a threat to the government. Anti-Castro Cubans were still able to carry out attacks against the federal government just days before the invasion. One of these attacks was the bombing of the El Encanto department store in Havana. To help the communist government prepare for the impending attack, advisers from the Soviet Union arrived. These advisers were experienced from World War II in planning defenses against invasion. Castro, however, was still in charge of directing the Cuban government s defense strategy. In addition, Sergio del Valle Jimenez took control of the Cuban Armed Forces in 1961. Cuba was now ready for an attack. CICERO 2010 1
The invasion began on the morning of April 15, 1961. A World War II era B- 26B Invader bomber, marked with stickers identifying it as a part of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (the name given to the exiles forces), made three separate trips, bombing the airfields of San Antonio de Los Banos, a Ciudad Libertad airfield, and the Antonio Maceo International Airport in Cuba. The Cuban exiles continued the attack by launching Operation Puma, the offensive attack by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. The original plan called for forty-eight consecutive hours of airstrikes by Cuban exiles in B-26B bombers. This would ensure Brigade 2506 s complete control over Cuban airspace prior to the landing at the Bay of Pigs. However, the bombing did not happen. Then a second wave of airstrikes was canceled. President Kennedy wanted it to appear as if the exiles had planned the operation without American support. He wanted to be able to deny United States involvement in the mission. Kennedy s insistence that the United States could deny involvement in the invasion was the reason Brigade 2506 s landing site was moved from Trinidad. Trinidad was close to an anti-communist stronghold in the Escambray Mountains. The exiles would have been able to retreat to their stronghold if the ground attack had failed. Moreover, there were many small ports near Trinidad. Exiles would be able to land and prepare for their ground attack more easily there. Kennedy changed the landing site to the Bay of Pigs despite protests from high-ranking members of the CIA. Kennedy stated that he moved the landing site in order to uphold plausible deniability. This way he could deny American involvement with the Cuban exiles. Canceling the second wave of airstrikes was a poor military decision. The Cuban Air Force planes were grounded and missiles easily could have destroyed them. Military experts think that Kennedy s decision ensured the mission s failure. In addition, one member of Brigade 2506 was in charge of formulating a cover story for the CIA. Captain Mario Zuniga had the engine of his B-26B bomber modified to make it look as if the craft had taken on ground fire during his flight. He proceeded to leave from his base in Nicaragua. He flew alone over the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio. Once over Cuba, he then made his way to Key West, Florida, to make himself easily detectable on American radio frequencies. He then sent a mayday call requesting permission for his immediate landing at the Boca Chica Naval Air Station close to Key West. By the time of Zuniga s announcement, all but one of the Brigade s bombers was flying over the Caribbean again. They were preparing for a third attempted airstrike. They first needed to refuel at the air base at Nicaragua. When they landed, however, they received CICERO 2010 2
orders from Washington to stop any further strikes over Cuba. Cuban exiles launched the ground attack on April 17, sending four 2,400-ton transports that carried 1,511 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs on Cuba s southern coast. The CIA provided them with two infantry landing crafts that also carried ammunition and supplies. The exiles were hoping they would influence the local population to join the rebellion. They were sure it would lead to Castro s downfall. However, Francisco Ciutat de Miguel and the pro-castro Cuban militia already had neutralized the local population. Miguel moved to stop the exiles attack, but the exiles forced Miguel s men to surrender. This enabled the exiles to move their men forward to control the area s causeways. When the exiles entered the causeway, fighting ensued between more pro-castro troops and the exiles. One United States Air Force A-26 attack aircraft provided air cover and caused heavy casualties among the Cuban forces. This provided enough support for the exiles to move inland from the beach. Soon the air support was withdrawn, however, and the exiles used up most of their ammunition. They were forced back to the beach at the Bay of Pigs. The Cuban army quickly pursued the invaders, and sixty-eight exiles were killed. Also, 1,209 were captured, charged with treason, and put on trial. Some exiles were sentenced to death, and others were sentenced to thirty years in prison. The United States negotiated for the release of these exiles. America gave Cuba approximately $53 million dollars in medicine and food. The failed invasion was a major embarrassment for the Kennedy Administration. In addition, Castro became very cautious when Americans intervened in Cuba. Relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated. The Bay of Pigs debacle forced the resignation of prominent American government officials: CIA Director Allen Dulles, Deputy CIA Director Charles Cabell, and Deputy Director of Operations Richard Bissell. CICERO 2010 3
Name: Discussion Questions: Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961 Date: 1. Why did President Dwight D. Eisenhower order the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to train Cuban exiles? Where were the exiles initially trained? Where were the training grounds moved? 2. Imagine you are President Kennedy. After you learned about the Soviet Union s support of Cuba, would you have altered the Bay of Pigs Invasion plan? Why or why not? 3. Why was Trinidad an ideal location for the Cuban exiles to land for the Bay of Pigs Invasion? CICERO 2010 4
4. Was the CIA cover story effective? 5. Describe the land battle between the Cubans and the exiles. 6. Should President Kennedy have resigned along with prominent CIA officials? Why or why not? CICERO 2010 5