Fidel Castro: The Cuban revolutionary leader
The United States started thinking about how to topple the
revolutionary government almost as soon as the Cuban Revolution occurred on January
1, 1959. The American program's initial goal was to assist the Cuban opposition
so that Castro's demise would seem to be the consequence of his own errors.
Eisenhower gave his approval to the plan to invade Cuba and
topple its government on March 17, 1960. Four goals were included in the plan
at the time: the formation of a cohesive Cuban opposition; the establishment of
a radio station for gray broadcasting to Cuba on both short and long waves; the
continuation of the construction of an intelligence and subversive network
within Cuba; and the continuation of preparations for the formation of a
paramilitary force outside of Cuba.
This phase essentially combined psychological warfare with
guerrilla warfare. The CIA started training 300 insurgents right away, first in
the Panama Canal Zone and the United States, and then in Guatemala. Using
equipment that had been left on the island following its use for radio
propaganda as part of Operation PBSUCCESS, the radio station on Isla Grande
started up on May 17. The Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR), which
consists of 184 factions, was formed in June by the CIA.
The character of the plan started to change from guerrilla
warfare to a naval landing in the fall of 1960 when the CIA determined that the
guerrilla war might not reach the critical mass required for an uprising
against Castro. The CIA anticipated that a large-scale revolt against Castro
would start a few weeks after the invasion and be successful in a few more
weeks.
On the morning of April 15, 1961, eight B-26 bombers with
Cuban Air Force markings struck three airfields in an attempt to destroy the
Cuban Air Force. However, the Cuban military command managed to disperse and
camouflage the aircraft, leaving only damaged and simulated planes at the
airfields. Around midnight on April 17, 1961, the "2506 Brigade"
launched an amphibious assault in the Cochinos Bay area.
A local "people's militia" unit of roughly 100 men
and a five-man patrol from the 339th Battalion attempted to stop the landing
operation on April 17, but they were defeated and forced to leave. However,
when the Cuban authorities learned of the landing at 03:15, they promptly
evaluated the situation. The nation declared martial law and announced a
nationwide mobilization.
Fidel Castro urged the people of the nation to oppose the
invading invaders in a radio speech. Cuban Air Force aircraft attacked the
landing spot multiple times as morning broke. Two landing barges and two
transport ships were sunk. The Castro government's superior troops utilized
planes, tanks, and howitzer artillery to stop the paratroopers' attack in the
middle of the day on April 17.
The invasion planners decided to use five B-26 aircraft to
strike Cuban fortifications on April 19. American pilots replaced the Cuban
pilots who refused to fly on what they saw as a suicidal mission. The bombers
were meant to be escorted by American jet fighters from the USS Essex, but the
aircraft missed one another, and the Cuban Air Force shot down two B-26s
carrying American aircrew.
The conflict concluded on April 19, 1961, when Brigade 2506
stopped resisting. Brigade 2506 has 1,202 captured and 114 dead overall. The
captured Gusanos of Brigade 2506 were put on trial in April 1962, and in
December of the same year, they were sent to the United States in return for
food and medical supplies.
The operation's failure generated a great deal of controversy both domestically and abroad. Forty nations' representatives denounced the US assault against Cuba during a UN conference. In a protest letter to the United States, the Soviet Union denounced the armed invasion and demanded that action be taken to stop the assault against Cuba.