Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was an action launched by the CIA to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion took place in April 1961, in southern Cuba (on the Bay of Pigs) and the American forces were actually composed of Cuban exiles, trained by the CIA.
The action was unsuccessful : the Cuban armed forces (trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations) defeated the invading combatants within three days, unfortunately for John Fitzgerald Kennedy who was on his first months of presidency…
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A map of the famous Bay of Pigs, in Cuba |
Title explanation
The main invasion took place at a Cuban beach named Playa Girón. The
invasion is named after the Bay of Pigs, (although that is only a
translation of the Spanish Bahía de Cochinos) which was a part of this
beach.
This Cuba beach had been choosen because of its good port facilities, but also because it was closer to many existing counter-revolutionary activities, because it was had an easily defensible beachhead, and because it offered an escape route into the mountains.
