Bahía de Cochinos

April 17, 1961- USA’s Failed Attempt to Overthrow the

Castro Regime

Overview:
An abortive invasion of Cuba directed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
(C.I.A) and carried out by Cuban exiles on April 17, 1961. 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 anti-Castro Cuban nationals 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.

Relations Deteriorate:

People Involved:

The Invasion:

Bahía de Cochinos:
(Map)

Aftermath:
Timeline of the Invasion:

January 1, 1959: Fidel Castro assumes

power in Cuba, the culmination of the six-year
revolution that ousted General Fulgencio
Batista (US supported dictator).

February 4-13, 1960: Soviet First Deputy

Prime Minister Anastas Mikoyan visits Cuba
and attends the opening of a Soviet trade
exhibit in Havana. He negotiates economic
and trade agreements that make Cuba more
economically independent of the United States. Fidel Castro

Winter 1960: President Eisenhower and advisors see Fidel Castro as a

potential problem for the United States and the Western Hemisphere.

March 17, 1960: Eisenhower authorizes a CIA plan called "A Program of
Covert Action Against the Castro Regime." Shortly thereafter the CIA begins
recruiting and training a group of 1,400 Cuban exiles from Miami in
Guatemala.

May 7, 1960: The Soviet Union and Cuba establish diplomatic relations.

July 8, 1960: The United States suspends the Cuban sugar quota,
effectively cutting off 80 percent of Cuban exports to the United States. The
following day, the Soviet Union agrees to buy that sugar.

August 28, 1960: The United States imposes an embargo on trade with
Cuba.

September 1960: A large Soviet Bloc arms shipment arrives in Cuba along
with advisors and technicians.

October 6, 1960: In response to the sugar situation, Castro nationalizes

U.S. private investments in Cuba worth about $1 billion.

December 19, 1960: Cuba openly aligns itself with the domestic and
foreign policies of the Soviet Union.

January 2, 1961: Soviet Premier Krushchev denies the existence of a Soviet

military base in Cuba.
January 3, 1961: The United States and Cuba sever diplomatic and
consular relations.

January 20, 1961: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the thirty-fifth

president of the United States.

Early April 1961: Kennedy discusses issues of deniability with regard to

U.S. participation in the planned invasion of Cuba. Arthur Schlesinger and
Senator Fulbright both submit memos opposing the planned invasion of
Cuba.

April 12, 1961: On the eve of the invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs,
President Kennedy decides that U.S. armed forces will not take part in the
operation.

April 14, 1961: Early in the morning, a group of B-26 bombers piloted by
Cuban exiles attack air bases in Cuba in an attempt to destroy as much of
Cuban air power as possible before the scheduled landing of a force of U.S.-
trained Cuban exiles. Just after the air strikes the CIA arranges for a couple of
the pilots to land in Florida posing as defectors.

April 15, 1961: Adlai Stevenson categorically denies U.S. participation in

the air strike to the United Nations. The defectors from the air strike are
discovered to be fraudulent. Stevenson is extremely embarrassed and upset.
An additional set of air strikes is canceled.

April 17-18, 1961: A group of about 1,400 Cuban exiles invade Cuba at the
Bay of Pigs. Cuban military forces hold the invasion force on the beachhead,
bringing a quick end to the battle. Of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 114 are killed
and 1,189 are captured.

April 19, 1961: Attorney General Robert Kennedy suggests three options
for dealing with Castro and Cuba:

• sending American troops into Cuba

• placing a strict blockade around Cuba
• calling on the Organization of American States (OAS) to prohibit the
shipment to Cuba of arms from any outside source

April 19, 1961: Krushchev assures Kennedy that the Soviet Union has no
bases or designs for bases in Cuba but warns him of the danger of any future
invasions of the island by American forces, threatening renewed global war.

June 13, 1961: General Maxwell Taylor submits a report to President

Kennedy on U.S. limited war programs which concluded that Castro's Cuba
represented a real threat to Latin American nations, and called for a new
program of action, possibly employing the full range of political, military,
economic, and psychological tactics.

November 30, 1961: President Kennedy authorizes a major new covert

action program aimed at overthrowing the Cuban government called
OPERATION MONGOOSE. A high-level inter-agency group is formed to
oversee MONGOOSE, and carry out a wide range of activities, mostly against
Cuban ships and aircraft outside Cuba (and non-Cuban ships engaged in
Cuban trade), such as contaminating shipments of sugar from Cuba and
tampering with industrial products imported into the country.