Monday, 7 October 2013

Bay of Pigs

Bay of Pigs April 1961


Cause

  • As a result of Castro ejecting (nationalising) all of US businesses  , USA refused to buy Cuban sugar
  • The Soviets saw this is as an opportunity to get involved in South America
  • The Soviets offered to buy Cuban products and Castro was now closer to communism.


What Happened

  • Cuban exiles (supporters of Batista) living in USA were trained to invade Cuba and remove Castro
  • They were trained by the CIA, which costed $45 million. In mid April 1961 La Brigada 2506 (1500 of them) landed in Cuba to overthrow Castro. 
  • The invasion failed, as Castro was very popular amongst the Cubans and he was aware of the invasion
  • All of La Brigada’s equipment was destroyed, and they were no match for the Cuban forces.


Consequence 

  • Castro’s position was strengthened in Cuba and now was much closer to USSR.   
  • There was much humiliation for Kennedy and USA.
  • Communism had spread much closer to the USA