The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Resulting Effects
Grace E. Multhauf
Junior Division
Paper
Paper Length 2,482 words
“One of our greatest assets is that all men aspire to be equal and free. This fact haunts the
rulers of the Kremlin today for they cannot change the law of nature and they know it.” stated
Allen Dulles, the fifth director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was
an encounter that occurred on April 17, 1961, between Cuban exiles, armed and trained by the
American Central Intelligence Agency and the military forces of Fidel Castro. With the failure of
the Bay of Pigs invasion the United States found itself more involved in the Cold War and
experienced a new era in the military, political, and intelligence fields as well as the exchange
and exploration of communist ideology.
The Spanish-American War began with Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain in
1895. As the uprising began to occur in Cuba the United States sent the United States Ship the
Maine (U.S.S. Maine) to the harbor in Havana to protect United States’ citizens and property.
The United States was on the verge of entering the struggle when the U.S.S. Maine was sunk
under unknown circumstances in 1898.1 After the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine the United States
entered the struggle and began to express the need for the end of Spanish colonial rule in the
western hemisphere. In an attempt to please the angered United States, Spain granted Cuba some
limited powers of self-government. However, the United States was far from pleased and
demanded that Cuba be made independent from Spain and the removal of Spanish troops from
Cuba. “We could not leave them to themselves, they would were unfit for self-government, and
they would soon have anarchy and misrule” stated President McKinley on Cuba’s early
government and his actions regarding Cuba. From the United States involvement in Cuba, the
anguish and distrust in Cuba for the United States began.
1
History.com Staff. "Spanish American War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan.
2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war>.
2
The Cuban Revolution proved to be the spark that ignited the flame of communism in
Cuba. The developing nation gained independence only as recently as 1898, and was already
filled with an atmosphere of distrust and resentment towards the United States expanding from
the Spanish-American War.2 In July of 1953, a revolution began in Cuba between the United
States backed President Batista, and Fidel Castro. Fidel and his brother Raul Castro lead a series
of guerilla warfare battles against the forces of President Batista. “I am Fidel Castro and we have
come to liberate Cuba,” stated Fidel Castro. Castro began the Cuban revolution with the hopes of
eliminating the influence of the United States in Cuba. In January of 1959, Fidel Castro took
power and became the President of Cuba. With the regime of Castro, Cuba would fall to
communism.3
“Victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan,” remarked John F. Kennedy.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion code named operation Zapata began in March of 1960 one month and a
year before the famed invasion took place. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower
ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin a covert operation to bring down the procommunist Cuban government. Fidel Castro’s pro-communist beliefs, the seizure of American
owned companies and land led to extreme concern from United States policy makers and
officials. The mission however would become possibly one of the worst intelligence failures in
the history of the United States. The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion lead to a new era in the military
and intelligence fields that continues to affect foreign policy today.4
Within the plans for the Central Intelligence Agency's invasion of the Bay of Pigs, there
were a number of mistakes that later contributed to the Invasion’s failure. One theory behind the
“Cuban Revolution/ Cuban History”. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 20 December,
2015.
3
“The Cold War Museum/ The Cuban Revolution of “1959”. The Cold War Museum. Web. 20
December, 2015.
4
“Bay of Pigs Chronology”. The National Security Archive. Web. 15 December, 2015.
2
3
failure was that the original plan from the Eisenhower administration was altered. Another of
these mistakes was the belief that Cuban nationals shared the same animosity of Fidel Castro that
Cuban exiles did. If the Central Intelligence Agency chose to explore all sides of the Cuban
argument instead of only seeing the opinions of the Miami Cuban exiles, then the design of the
invasion strike would have been changed. Consequently, the Cuban exiles were angry with Fidel
Castro for the downfall of President Bastia and wanted democracy.5 Furthermore, the Cuban
population living within Cuba was agreeable with Fidel Castro’s plan of isolation. Implicating
That Cuba would no longer operate and exchange with the United States and allow for
ownership of Cuban land and exports by American companies. Another error was that the
Central Intelligence Agency did not consider that the Cuban citizens would want to keep Fidel
Castro in power as President. “Castro had a sixty to seventy percent approval rating in Cuba,”
stated Central Intelligence Agency hemisphere division chief Joseph C. King. United States
officials, policy makers, and the Central Intelligence Agency were concerned with leaving Castro
as President due to the fact that Cuba was vital to the security of the United States.6
The belief was that if the Soviet Union gained Cuba as an ally, the security of the United
States could become compromised. The fear of an alliance between the Soviet Union and Cuba
was later proven to be true with the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis
was the closet time during the Cold War that the United States and the Soviet Union ever came
to nuclear war. John F. Kennedy by removing the Cuban Dictator from power also wanted to
prove to Russia and China that he was serious about winning the Cold War.
5
Tully, Andrew. CIA The Inside Story. New York, New York: William Morrow and Company,
1962. Print
6
Szulc, Tad. "Anti-Castro Units Land in Cuba; Report Fighting at Beachhead; Rusk Says
U.S.Won't Intervene." The New York Times [New York] Mar.-Apr. 1961: Print.
4
Castro’s approval rating was an extensive issue due to the fact that the Central
Intelligence Agency's plans relied on the belief that Cuban exiles could start a rebellion to retake
control of Cuba. The main plan of the Invasion was to train and arm, fifteen hundred Cuban
exiles in Guatemala. Before the troops would arrive in Cuba, the Central Intelligence Agency
planned to train roughly eighty men to conduct an air strike on Cuba with the hope of taking out
Castro’s naval and air powers. The next part of the plan was to deliver shock and awe tactics in
hopes of throwing off Castro’s superior military forces. Using these tactics the ground troops
then had plans to travel across Cuba to the city of Havana and overthrow Castro. Along the way
to Havana, the exiles were to convert members of Castro’s military, political circle and the
citizens of Cuba to gain enough manpower to conduct a full-scale invasion of Havana and
establish a democracy.7
On April 17, 1961, fifteen hundred trained and armed Cuban exiles known as Brigade
2506 left their training base in Guatemala to go to the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. Additionally, when the
invasion was underway, U-2 spotter planes misidentified coral reefs as seaweed, this error cost
the Cuban exiles their naval assistance. The high stakes of the invasion proved to be too
considerable, as the aviators were poorly trained. As a result, a high number of Castro’s planes
and naval weaponry were able to continue operating after the airstrike. Another aspect of the
Invasion’s failure was the inability to keep the mission covert. Fidel Castro was able to discover
the Central Intelligence Agency's plans to eliminate his regime.8 On the day of the invasion the
Central Intelligence Agency's mistake in not keeping operation Zapata classified proved to be a
source of failure when Castro was able to dispatch twenty thousand military forces to the Bay of
“Bay of Pigs Release”. Central Intelligence Agency. 2 August, 2011. Web. 15 December, 2015.
“The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, April 1962-October 1962- 1961-1968. Office of
the Historian. Web. 11 December, 2015.
7
8
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Pigs within the day. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was over from the beginning, as the Cuban exiles
were vastly outnumbered and had limited supplies. Fidel Castro’s superior forces were able to
reclaim control of the Bay of Pigs in less than three days. Over one hundred members of the
Cuban exile brigade were killed and another one thousand and two hundred surrendered.9 The
release of the Cuban Exiles was negotiated twenty months later for fifty-three million dollars’
worth of food and medical supplies by New York attorney James Donovan.
The failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion proved to have an eternal effect of embarrassment
for the United States as a nation. Subsequently, with the failure, the United States and President
John F. Kennedy looked weak and poor in strength, and with the outlook of war on the horizon
between the United States and Russia, this proved to be a difficult conflict of interest. Within the
United States the once prominent and successful Central Intelligence Agency was facing fire
from President John F. Kennedy for their failures.10 Meanwhile, within Cuba, Fidel Castro was
able to use the United States attack to solidify his dictatorship in Cuba. One of the founding
members of the Central Intelligence Agency and the current director of Central Intelligence
(DCI) Allen Dulles was forced to resign from office along with the deputy director of plans
(DD/P) Richard Bissell. “At least we're getting the experience we need for the next war” Stated
Allen Dulles. The United States needed to perform a retaliatory act in the eyes of President
Kennedy and Congress.
With the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion the need for the creation of democracy in
Cuba remained on the minds of United States policy makers. From the infamous failure of the
Bay of Pigs Invasion, operation Mongoose was born. During the final year of Kennedy’s
History.com Staff. “Bay of Pigs Invasion”. History.com. A&E Networks, LLC, 2016. January
5th, 2015.
10
“The Bay of Pigs”. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Web. 12 January,
2016.
9
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presidency before his assassination, the planning of operation Mongoose was ordered.11 “The
consequences of the Bay of Pigs failure wasn’t an acceptance of Castro and his control of Cuba,
but, rather, a renewed determination to bring him down by stealth,” stated Robert Dallek.
Operation Mongoose was created to do what the Bay of Pigs had failed to do, create democracy
in Cuba and abolish the regime of Fidel Castro. The responsibility of implementing operation
Mongoose fell to Central Intelligence Agency units stationed in the District of Colombia and
Miami, Florida. The main plan of operation Mongoose would span years and used military
forces, sabotage, and political propaganda to slander Castro’s popularity in the eyes of Cuban
citizens as well as attempt to assassinate Castro.12
Unfortunately, during this time Fidel Castro held knowledge of the Central Intelligence
Agency's credible plot to overthrow and assassinate him. To work to prevent this Castro
contrived with the current Soviet Union dictator Nikita Khrushchev to place Soviet missiles in
Cuba. Cuba was an important asset to the Soviet Union because it proved them with a main
location of attack against the United States. This became a massive threat to the United States
due to the fact that Cuba is within ninety miles of the coast of Florida. For the Soviets to have an
ally, not only within the western hemisphere, but within ninety miles of the United States was
believed to be a catastrophic idea. The threat of the missiles in Cuba was discovered on October
15, 1962 and began a new decade of the Cold War.13
The finding of the Soviet missiles in Cuba during a routine U-2 spy plane mission evoked
the
closest time during the Cold War that the United States and the Soviet Union came to nuclear
“Operation Mongoose”. Global Security.org. Web. 5 January, 2016.
“Program Review by the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Landsdale, 18. Program
Review by the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose. 5 January, 2016.
13
“Cold War; Cuban Missile Crisis”. Library of Congress. Web. 5 January, 2016.
11
12
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warfare. “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price,
bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival
and the success of liberty.” remarked Dean Rusk the Secretary of State during the Cuban Missile
Crisis. With the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis the earlier belief of United States policy
makers that for the Soviet Union to have an ally within the western hemisphere would be
catastrophic to the security of the United States was proven true. The threat of nuclear warfare
and the animosity between the United States and Cuba was immensely elevated due to the Cuban
Missile Crisis. The diplomatic fallout of the crisis has proved to draw out through the past fifty
years.14
One of the diplomatic complications of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs
Invasion was the Cuban Embargo. “Hereby prohibit, effective 12:01 A.M., Eastern Standard
Time, February 7, 1962, the importation into the United States of all goods of Cuban origin and
all goods imported from or through Cuba” President John F. Kennedy, Proclamation 3447. On
February 7, 1962, the Cuban Embargo was implemented and all trade with Cuba was halted. The
Cuban embargo has remained in effect despite the reopening of the American embassy in
Havana, although it has been announced that work is being done to end the embargo and
normalize relations with Cuba. “I have come here to end the last remnants of the Cold War in the
Americas” stated President Obama about the ending of the Cuban Embargo during his recent
visit to Cuba. 15
The Bay of Pigs Invasion proved to be the root of a number of complications within the
Cold War. The Invasion was destined to fail from the beginning due to the CIA’s plan being
backed on false intelligence. From the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the mass exchange of communist
“Cuban Missile Crisis”. Histroy.com. Web. 5 January, 2016.
“John F. Kennedy: Proclamation 3447 - Embargo on all Trade with Cuba”. The American
Presidency Project. Web. 5 January, 2016.
14
15
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ideas would begin, deepening the Cold War and attributing to the pressure and strain placed upon
the United States and Russian foreign relations. Failure and doubt in the United States lead to the
exploration of new policy and political ideology, as well as a new era in intelligence, political,
and military fields, that continues to affect the domestic and foreign policy of today's era. From
the changes of foreign and domestic policy the beginnings of Operation Mongoose, the Cuban
Missile Crisis and the Cuban Embargo originated.
9
Bibliographies
Primary Sources
Szulc, Tad. "Anti-Castro Units Land in Cuba; Report Fighting at Beachhead; Rusk Says U.S.
Won't Iintervene." The New York Times [New York] Mar.-Apr. 1961: Print.
This source helped me to find the opinions and actions of the public of the United
States after the invasion. The source helped me to find current information from the
1960's.
“Bay of Pigs Chronology”. The National Security Archive. Web. 15 December, 2015.
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/bayofpigs/chron.html
The National Security Archive website allowed me to view a chronology of the
Bay of Pigs invasion. The Chronology enabled me to have an accurate insight into the
order of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and its resulting factors.
“Bay of Pigs Release”. Central Intelligence Agency. 2 August, 2011. Web. 15 December, 2015.
http://www.foia.cia.gov/collection/bay-pigs-release
The Bay of Pigs release assisted me in furthering my understanding of the Central
Intelligence’s report. The release allowed me to understand the reasons behind the
Central Intelligence Agency's plan.
Kornbluh, Peter. Bay of Pigs Declassified. New York, New York: The New Press, 1998. Print.
This book allowed me an access to Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s report on
the Invasion and important data on the Bay of Pigs. The Bay of Pigs declassified allowed
me to view details of the plan that other websites did not.
“The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, April 1962-October 1962- 1961-1968. Office of the
Historian. Web. 11 December, 2015. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/bay-of-pigs
10
The Office of the Historian website permitted me to observe the States
departments view on the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the affects that it had on foreign
policy. Using the Office of the Historian website I was able to further my understanding
of how the Bay of Pigs Invasion failure affected the United States.
“The Bay of Pigs”. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Web. 12 January, 2016.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx
John F. Kennedy’s presidential library and museum website helped me to
understand President Kennedy and the executive branch's view point on the Bay of Pigs.
John F. Kennedy’s presidential library and museum was able to help me develop a more
complete understanding of the executive branch viewpoint.
“John F. Kennedy: Proclamation 3447 - Embargo on all Trade with Cuba”. The American
Presidency Project. Web. 5 January, 2016. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=58824
This website on Proclamation 3447 was able to provide me with information on
the Cuban Embargo and its relevance to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The details of
Proclamation 3447 gave me an insight into the logic behind the Proclamation.
“The Cold War Museum/ The Cuban Revolution of “1959”. The Cold War Museum. Web. 20
December, 2015. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/TheCubanRevolutionof1959.asp
The Cold War museum website allowed me to view the impact that the Cuban
Revolution had on communism. The museum assisted me in learning the important
actions of the Cuban Revolution.
“Cold War; Cuban Missile Crisis”. Library of Congress. Web. 5 January, 2016.
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/colc.html
11
The library of congress website allowed me to see articles and other important
information relating to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This website helped me to complete my
understanding of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
“Program Review by the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Lansdale), 18. Program
Review by the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose. 5 January, 2016.
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/cuba/mongoose.htm
The Program Review of Operation Mongoose allowed me to see the full report of
operation Mongoose. The report by the Chief of operations for operation mongoose gave
me key information behind operation mongoose.
History.com Staff. "Spanish American War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan.
2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war>.
This article on history.com allowed for me to gather more information on the SpanishAmerican War helping me to place my paper in more historical context. Using this source
I was able to further my research on the Spanish-American War.
Secondary Sources
History.com Staff. “Bay of Pigs Invasion”. History.com. A&E Networks, LLC, 2016. January
5th, 2015. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion
This website describing the Bay of Pigs Invasion allowed in an initial insight into the Bay
of Pigs invasion and its effects. With this source I was able to further my understanding
of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Tully, Andrew. CIA The Inside Story. New York, New York: William Morrow and Company,
1962. Print
12
Andrew Tully’s CIA The Inside Story the provided me with key information as
the Central Intelligence Agency's role in the failure. The Inside Story assisted me in
seeing the Central Intelligence Agency's logic behind the invasion.
“Cuban Revolution/ Cuban History”. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 20 December,
2015. http://www.britannica.com/topic/Cuban-Revolution
The Encyclopedia Britannica website gave me a deeper understanding of the
Cuban Revolution. With the Encyclopedia Britannica website I was able to view a
chronology of the Cuban Revolution and further my understanding of the key
elements.
“Cuban Missile Crisis”. Histroy.com. Web. 5 January, 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/coldwar/cuban-missile-crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis website helped me to develop a more complete
understanding of the Crisis. Using this website I was able to develop a basic
insight into the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“Operation Mongoose”. Global Security.org. Web. 5 January, 2016.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/ops/mongoose.htm
This website on Operation Mongoose provided me with the information I needed
to complete my understanding of the events of Operation Mongoose. Global Security
provided me with information on the main mission behind Operation Mongoose.
13