Bay of Pigs Invasion: A History from Beginning to End

In the 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secretly planned, supported, and funded two coups: one in Guatemala and one in Iran. This was the height of the Cold War, and both deposed governments were suspected of leaning to the left and favoring closer ties with the Soviet Union, while the regimes that replaced them were more inclined to look favorably on the United States. Whatever the moral implications of such interventions (and the US government strenuously denied involvement in either), many Americans saw the outcomes as positive developments that helped to slow the worldwide spread of communism.

Then, in January 1959, a new leader took control of the island of Cuba, which is less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the US mainland. At first, it seemed that Fidel Castro might be friendly toward the US, but during 1959 and 1960, tensions increased, and Cuba seemed to be moving closer to the Soviet Union. Many Americans came to believe that peace could only be assured in Latin America by the removal of Castro from power and his replacement with a more friendly regime. The CIA developed a bold and secret plan for an invasion of Cuba by a group of anti-Castro rebels who would land in a remote area known as the Bay of Pigs. This is the story of the ill-fated, poorly planned, and ultimately disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.