Bay of Pigs

Cuba & the U.S.
(The Bay of Pigs)

Learning Target

I can identify the key events that caused the Bay of Pigs invasion and analyze the
factors that made it fail.

Key Leaders:

Fidel Castro:

-Organized an armed force to overthrow the Cuban
government in 1953 and again in 1956.

-Engaged in Guerilla Warfare and assumed control of
Cuba on January 1, 1959.

-Castro Set up a communist dictatorship

Key Leaders

John F Kennedy:

-35th President of the United States

-Faced a number of foreign- Policy challenges (Fidel
Castro’s Cuba)

-Authorized the Bay of pigs invasion just months after his
inauguration

What do we know?

What do we notice?

The Invasion:

The Bay of Pigs Invasion:

-Objective was to overthrow the communist government controlled by Fidel
Castro

-The invasion was planned and financed by the United States

-CIA would train Cuban exiles to invade

-Training camps in Guatemala

-1,400 man invasion force against 20,000 troops

Why the Invasion Failed

-Castro knew of an impending attack

-Cuban intelligence learned of the training camps in Guatemala

-Failed Cuban support

-The assumption was that once the conflict started that many on the island would come to aid
the cuban exiles

-Cuban air force was underestimated

-Vastly outnumbered, 20,000 to only 14,000 troops

Aftermath of the Invasion

-Some Cuban exiles escaped to the sea but the rest were
killed or imprisoned

-Prisoners remained in captivity for 20 months until the
U.S. negotiated a deal with Castro

-Castro wanted $53 million dollars worth of baby food and medicine

-A complete and utter embarrassment for the Kennedy
administration

-Operation Mongoose was established- attempts to sabotage and
destabilize the Cuban government and economy- assassinating
Castro

-Tainted Cuban/ US relations even to this day