Bay of Pigs Invasion

Summary

Bay of Pigs Invasion was unsuccessful invasion by the Cuban exiles against Cuba in 1961, and which the U.S government was supporting. The intention of Bay of Pigs invasion was to stimulate popularity for an uprising that was against Fidel Castro. On April 17 the same year, an armed force of approximately 1,500 Cuban exiles entered in Bahía de Cochinos, also known as Bay of Pigs, which is on Cuba’s South Coast region. This army had been trained by members of the CIA since May, 1960 with the Eisenhower administrations’ approval and supplied them with firearms. The intention of the rebels was to stimulate an insurgence in Cuba as well as overthrow Fidel Castro’s Communist regime. The rebels were easily overcome by the Cuban army, where most of them were either killed while others were captured. This invasion stimulated anti-U.S. demonstration within the Latin America region and Europe, which further estranged the US-Cuban relations. This poorly planned as well as executed invasion subjected President Kennedy to serious criticism in the U.S. The leader of the Cuban rebels, José Miró Cardona, blamed the failure of the invasion on the CIA as well as Kennedy’s refutation to approve air cover for the force that was carrying out the invasion. Nevertheless, more crucial to the failure was that the uprising that the exiles wanted to take place did not go as planned. It was later revealed that the CIA task force that was planning the invasion had predicted the failure of the invasion in the absence of the U.S. military. Castro freed 1,113 rebels who had been captured in December, 1962 in exchange for food and medicine worth $53million that was raised by donations from the U.S.[1]

United States’ Interests at Stake

The interests of the U.S. were at stake prior to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Fidel Castro had become a concern to the United States policymakers after he had seized power in Cuba. Fidel Castro started a revolution in the year 1959.⁴ He started attacking United States’ companies as well as interests that were in the Cuban nation. In addition, Fidel Castro started spreading his inflammatory anti-U.S. rhetoric, as well as moved towards a close relationship between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Justification of The Bay of Pigs Invasion by the US Policymakers

The U.S. policymakers justified the attack against the Cuban leader on the grounds that he was posing as a main threat towards the interests of the U.S. The anti-inflammatory rhetoric made the U.S. policymakers to come to a conclusion that the nations’ interests within the Western Hemisphere were at stake. In addition, these inflammatory rhetoric would raise an insurgence against the U.S. in the Latin American nations. This made President Eisenhower to order the Central Intelligence Agency to train an army out of the Cuban exiles. John F. Kennedy was merely an inheritor of this program after he entered into office in 1961.[2]

Outcome of Bay of Pigs Invasion

The Consequences of the Bay of Pigs Invasion was a negative one as it failed in achieving its goals, therefore costing the United States of America dearly. Fidel Castro utilized this invasion by the “Yankee imperialists” as a tool to strengthen his power in Cuba in addition to requesting more military aid from the Soviet Union. Eventually, the military aid offered included missiles as well as the putting up of missile bases within Cuba, which sparked the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when the U.S. as well as the Soviet Union closely came to blows in relation to the issue. Furthermore, in most of the Latin American nations, the U.S. was humiliated for its utilization of armed forces in an effort to unseat Castro from power, a man who is regarded as a hero by most individuals because of his position against the United States’ interference as well as imperialism. With the aim of redeeming himself, Kennedy publicly accepted the blame regarding the attack as well as the failure that followed it.

My Stance on the U.S. Involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion

The United States was right in its attempt to get Fidel Castro out of power. This is because Castro had proved to be a threat to the interests that the U.S. has in Cuba. The United States had made colossal investment of funds in the companies that were based in Cuba and it was wrong for Fidel Castro to attack them. Furthermore, the then Cuban President, Fidel Castro had started spreading his anti-United States inflammatory rhetoric that would interfere with the position that the U.S. had in the Latin America. The move by Castro to tighten the relationship with the Soviet Union would see the nation lose a lot in terms of its international relations with other nations, particularly in Latin America. Nevertheless, the invasion would be a success had the United States deployed some of its military resources to help the rebels.[3]